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iiiiiiiiB!i'[iiiiriiiirfJ!iiii'iiiiiiii!il 



AN ELEMENTARY 

HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, TABLES, MAPS, 
AND PLANS 



T. F. TOUT, M.A. 

PROFESSOR OF MKDI/EVAL AND M0DP:RN HISTORY 
IN THE UNlVEUSrrY OF MANCHESTER 



JAMES SULLIVAN, Ph.D. 

HIGH SCHOOL OF COMMERCE, NEW YORK 



NEW YORK 

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 

91 AND 93 FIFTH AVENUE 

1904 



LIB^o«?V «' 10NGRFSS 

SEP 29 1904 

^51 Cooyrfeht Entry 
CLASB ^ XXo. No. 
COPY B 



Copyright, 1904, 
By Longmans, Green, & Co. 



All rights reserved. 



THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
CAMBRIDGE, U. S, A. 



PREFACE 

The present work is not meant absolutely for beginners. 
The writers are convinced that the best way of kindling 
the first interest in history in young children is by the 
oral narration of picturesque stories and biographies. 
For this stage no text-book seems necessary or even de- 
sirable. But as children grow a little older there is a, 
danger in relying altogether on detached incidents and 
episodes. It is almost equally hazardous to trust ex- 
clusively to oral teaching without book. In many cases 
both these methods tend to^vards leaving little save a 
passing impression on the pupil's mind. They are too 
often destitute of any permanent or tangible result. At 
first permanent impressions of detail do not much 
matter, but after a time they are necessary. An ele- 
mentary text-book may attain the ends desired in two 
ways. One method is simply to write out at length the 
same sort of historical details that the teacher has hith- 
erto given viva voce. But to follow this plan for the 
whole of English History needs a volume of considerable 
dimensions. The writers have therefore deliberately re- 
jected the method of attempting to tell a large number 
of familiar stories at length. They have preferred to 
adopt the second possible way. This is to put together 
a fairly continuous narrative, even at the risk of some 
parts of it being less attractive than they might have 
been made by the fuller mode of proceeding. The 
writers are, however, convinced that the living voice of 



VI 



Preface 



the teacher, necessary enough at all stages of historical 
teaching, is still vitally important for pupils at the stage 
of those for whom this work is intended. The text- 
book should supplement, not supersede, the teacher, and 
the authors have aimed primarily at making the present 
work a series of pegs, on which the experienced teacher 
can hansf such illustrative matter as seems to him most 
fitted for his purpose. At the same time, they have 
aimed at sufficient completeness to enable the teacher 
who cannot give much time to the subject to use the 
work without any such amplification. The authors 
believe that even in the earlier stages of instruction 
some effort should be made to put before young minds 
the ideas of continuity and growth which lie at the 
root of all history. They are sure that this end can 
only be attained by some form of consecutive narra- 
tive. Moreover, a work so designed may, it is believed, 
be helpful to the teacher by supplying the hard kernel 
of facts, names, and dates, which young minds readily 
assimilate, and without which they may be interested, 
but hardly taught. It is hoped that by careful attention 
to simplicity and proportion, and by the remorseless 
omission of much that is commonly found even in the 
shortest primers of English History, these objects may 
be in some measure attained without any material sacri- 
fice of picturesque interest. 

Of recent years there has been a growing interest in 
the institutional, social, and industrial life of the people. 
It has been felt by historians, and rightly, that such 
matters are of more importance than petty anecdotes in 
the lives of kings and queens. In answer to the grow- 
ing demand for such topics, the authors have felt called 
upon to devote a larger proportion of the text to insti- 



Preface vii 

tutional, social, and industrial conditions than is usual 
in most text-books of this nature. 

There has been a tendency of late on the part of our 
text-book writers, especially the more scholarly of tliera, 
to fill their books, even for the elementary schools, with 
bibliographies of books of such a difficult nature as to 
be read only by grown people. It has been the object 
of the authors of this book to put under the head of 
" Topics " at the end of each chapter a list of easy 
fiction. This will be the only kind of reading the pupils 
can do, if they have any time to do reading at all. 
Even some of this fiction will prove difficult for the 
average pupil, but it is put in with tlie hope of training 
a few to read some of the best historical fiction. 

It is not to our purpose to enter into a defence of this 
kind of material for reading. We know that a great 
deal of it is poor and deserves the title of " unhistorical 
fiction," but it is better to have children read even this 
than to read nothing at all. 

It is impossible for a pupil of twelve to do anything 
more than struggle through such books as the " Epochs " 
and " Twelve English Statesmen " series. Even when 
such reading is done it is of very doubtful value. Ac- 
cordingly, such books have been set down under the 
heading of " Books for Teachers." 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 



Teachers would do well to have at their disposal in the class-room 
the following books : — 

Acland and Ransome, A Handbook of English Political History. 

Bates and Coman, English Historg Told hg English Poets. 

Cheyney, E. P., Industrial and Social History of England. 

Colby, C. W., Selections from the Sources of English History. 

Feilden, H., A Short Constitutional History of England. 

Gardiner, S. R., A Student's History of England. 

Gee and Hardy, Documents Ulustratice of English Church History. 

Hill, Mabel, Liberty Documents. 

Powell, F. Y., and Tout, T. F., History of England. 

Tout, T. F., Sho7't Analysis of English History. 

Ample information for further reading by the teacher may be 
found in the bibliographies of the above books and in the fol- 
lowing : — 

Bourne, H. E., The Teaching of History and Civics. 
Committee of the New England History Teachers' Association, His- 
torical Sources in Schools. 
Gardiner and Mullinger, Introduction to English History. 
Gross, C, The Sources and Literature of English History. 

Under " Topics " the list of suggestive questions does not pretend 
to be exhaustive. The teacher may work out others along the same 
line. It was not thought necessary by the authors to put down such 
questions as : "Who was Caesar," etc., but rather only such ques- 
tions as would lead the pupil to use his reason. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface v 

Table of Contents ix 

List of Illustrations xx 

List of Maps and Plans xxii 

List of Genealogical and other Tables xxiii 

Table of Kings and Queens xxiv 

SoME Important Dates xxvi 

PART I. EARLY ENGLAND. To 10G6 



DATE 



Down to 410. Chapter I. The Britons and the Ro- 
mans down to 410 1-8 

1. The Britisli Islands in the earliest times .... 1 

2. The Britons 2 

3. The Picts and Scots 3 

4. Julius Cffisar and the Romans 4 

5. The Roman Conquest of Britain 5 

6. Roman rule in South Britain 7 

410. 7. The end of Roman rule in Britain 7 

410-597. Chapter II. How the English came to 

Britain 9-i8 

1. Tlie Brilons driven into the West 9 

2. Who the Welsh are 9 

449. 3. The comino- of the p:nolish 9 

4. The chief divisions among the English — The 

Jutes, the Saxons 10 

5. And the Angles 11 

6. The figliting between the English kingdoms . . 12 

7. The four chief English Kingdoms 13 

597-664. Chapter III. How the English became 

Christians is-is 

1. The religion of the old English 15 

2. Pope Gregory and the English heathens ... 15 
597. 3. Mission of Augustine to Kent 16 

4. Paulinus sent to Northumbria 16 

626. 5. The fight between the Christians and the heathens 17 

6. Aidan and the conversion of the North .... 17 



X Contents 

PAGE 

664-899. Chapter IV. The Union of England and 

the Comings of the Danes 19-24 

1. How England became united under one church 

and one king 19 

19 
20 
20 
21 
21 
22 
23 
23 



d. 839. 2. Egbert of Wessex . . 

3. The Danisli invasions .... 
871. 4. The Danes attack Wessex . . 
5. Alfred and the Danes .... 
878. 6. The Treaty of Chipi)enham : the Dane law 
d. 899. 7. How Alfred became the chief king in England 

8. What Alfred did for the English army and navy 

9. Why Alfred was called Alfred the Great . . 



899-1066. Chapter V. From Alfred to Edward the 

Confessor 26-30 

899-959. 1. How Alfred's successors became Kings of the 

English and Emperors of Britain 26 

959-975. 2. The reign of King Edgar 26 

3. Archbishop Dimstan 27 

975-1016. 4. The reigns of Edward the Martyr and Ethelred 

tlie Unready 27 

5. The Danes again invade England 27 

6. Danegeld 28 

7. The Danes conquer England 28 

1017-1035. 8. Cnut King of England and Denmark .... 28 

1042-1066. 9. The reign of Edward the Confessor 29 

To 1066. Chapter VI. Institutions of Early Eng^- 

land 31-37 

1. The king 31 

2. The Witan or Council 31 

3. Justice, (a) Methods of Trial 32 

Compurgation 32 

Ordeal 33 

(b) Courts 33 

4. Religion 33 

5 Classes of the people 35 

6. Towns 36 

7. Gilds 36 



PART II. THE NORMAN KINGS. 1066-1154 

1066. Chapter VII. The Norman Conquest • . 38-45 

1. Emma of Normandy 38 

2. Normandy and the Normans ....... 38 

3. How the Normans became like Frenchmen . . 39 

4. Edward the Confessor brings Normans into 

England 39 

5. Earl Harold drives away the Normans ... 41 



Contents xi 

PAGE 

1066. 6. Harold becomes King of the English .... 42 

" 7. Duke William lands in England 42 

" 8. Harold beats the Norwegians and marches 

against the Normans 42 

*' 9. The Battle of Hastings — William becomes King 

of the English 43-.5 

1066-1154. Chapter VIII. The Norman Kings • • • 46-51 

1. How William the Conqueror dealt witli the 

Normans and English 46 

2. Norman castles 46 

3. The revolts of the Norman barons 47 

4. The English support William against the barons 47 

5. How William became a strong king 47 

6. The Domesday Book 47 

7. The sons of William the Conqueror 48 

1087-1100. 8. The reign of William Eufus 48 

9. llufus and Archbishop Anselm 48 

1100. 10. Rufus's death in the New Forest 49 

1100-1135. 11. The reign of Henrv 1 49 

1135-1154. 12. The reign of Stephen .50 

13. The Avar between Stephen and Matilda .... 50 

14. The miseries of Stephen's reign 51 

1066-1154. Chapter IX. Norman England .... 52-58 

1 . Changes by the Normans 52 

2. The king 52 

3. The Great Council 52 

4. The Privy Council 53 

5. Justice 53 

6. The Church 53 

7. Classes of society 54 

8. The feudal .system 54 

9. Chivalry 56 

10. Towns 56 

11. The manor 58 



PART III. THE ANGf:VIN KINGS. 1154-1399 

1154-1189. Chapter X. Henry II. 59-66 

1. How the House of An jou began 59 

2. Henry II. 's great dominions 61 

3. Character of Henry II 61 

4. Henry II. 's new law.s. Assizes and trial by 

jury 61 

5. English and Normans become one people ... 62 

6. Thomas Becket 62 

7. Quarrel of Henry II. and Thomas 63 

8. The quarrel is patched up and breaks out again 63 



1189-1199. 


1. 


1189. 


3. 
4. 
.5. 


1199-1216. 


6. 



xii Contents 

PAGE 

1170. 9. Mnrdcr of Thomas at Canterbury 63 

10. Tliomas is made a saint 64 

11. Henry's troul)k's and pilgrimage to Thomas's 

tomi) 65 

12. Henry II. 's last years and death 65 

1189-1216. Chapter XI The Sons of Henry II. • . 67-72 

IJichard I., the Lion Heart 67 

The Crusades 67 

The 'Jliird Crusade 68 

Kichard taken prisoner in Germany 69 

Kic'hard's last years and death 69 

King John .' 69 

7. The loss of Normandy and Anjou 69 

8. Quarrel of John and Innocent III 70 

9. John becomes the Pope's vassal 70 

10. The barons oppose John 71 

1215. 11. Magna Carta 71 

1216. 12. John overthrows the Charter — His death . . 72 

1216-1272 Chapter XII. Henry III 73-79 

1217. 1. Defeat of Louis of France 73 

2. The rule of Stephen Langtou and William 

iVlarshall 73 

3. Character of Henry III 74 

4. Henry's weak rule 74 

5. The beginnings of parliament 75 

1258. 6. The Provisions of Oxford 75 

7. Ilenrv and the barons renew their quarrel. . . 75 

1264. 8. Battle of Lewes 76 

1265. 9. Karl Simon's Parliament of 1265 76 

" 10. The Battle of Evesham 78 

1265-1272. 11. The restoration and death of Henry in. ... 78 

1272-1307. Chapter XIII. Edward I. 80-85 

1. Character of Edward 1 80 

1282. 2. The Concpiest of Wales 80 

3. Edward makes John Balliol King of Scots . . 81 
1293. 4. Edward quarrels with Balliol and conquers 

Scotland 82 

5. Rising of Wallace and Edward's second conquest 

of Scotland 82 

1306. 6. Robert Bruce becomes King of Scots .... 84 

7. Edward the creator of modern parliament . . 84 

1297. 8. The Confirmation of the Charters ..... 85 

1307-1327. Chapter XIV. Edward II. 86-88 

1. Edward II. and Gaveston 86 

1314. 2. The Battle of Bannockburu 86 

3. Robert Bruce recognized as King of Scots . . 87 

1327. 4. The deposition of Edward II 88 



Contents xiii 

PAGE 

1327-1377. Chapter XV. Edward III. 89-95 

1. Edward III. and the Hundred Years' War . . 89 

2. Causes of the war 89 

1328. . 3. Edward III. claims the French throne .... 90 

4. Beginning of the war 90 

1346. 5. Battle of Crecy 90 

1356. 6. Battle of Foiiiers 91 

1360. 7. The Treaty of Bretigny 92 

8. The war renewed and France lost 92 

9. Englishmen become proud of their country and 

language 92 

1349. 10. The Black Death 94 

1376-1377. 11. The Good Parliament and the death of Ed- 
ward III 94 

1377-1399. Chapter XVI. Richard II. 96-ioi 

1. The minority of Kichard II 96 

1381. 2. The Feasants' Revolt 96 

3. Richard puts down the Peasants' Revolt ... 97 

4. The state of the Church 97 

5. John Wycliffe 97 

6. Wvcliffe tries to reform the Church 98 

7. Ge'offrey Chaucer 99 

8. liichard tries to make himself a despot ... 99 
1399. 9. Henry of Lancaster deposes Richard II. . . . 99 

1154-1399. Chapter XVII. The Angevin Period • • 102-108 

1. Changes 102 

2. The king 102 

3. Parliament 103 

4. Powers of parliament 104 

5. Taxation 104 

6. Justice 105 

7. Towns and trade 106 

8. Manufactures 107 

9. Markets and fairs 108 

10. Agriculture 108 



PART IV. THE LANCASTRIAN AND YORKIST 
KINGS. 1399-1485 

1399-1461. Chapter XVIII. The Lancastrian Kings 109-117 

1399. 1. Why Henry IV. was made king 109 

2. Henry IV. puts down the Lollards 110 

3. Revolts against Henrv IV 110 

1413. 4. Death of Henrv IV^ "^ 110 

1413-1423. .5. Character of lienrv V Ill 

1416. 6. The Battle of Agincourt Ill 

7. The Treaty of Troyes 112 



xiv Contents 

PAGE 

1422. 8. Bedford upholds Henry VI.'s throne .... 113 

9. The mission of Joan of Arc 113 

10. Joan relieves Orleans and takes Charles VII. to 

Reims 113 

11. The death of Joan 11.5 

1453. 12. The fall of the English power in France ... 115 

13. Henry VI.'s weak rule 116 

14. Richard Duke of York 116 

1461. 15. The deposition of Henry VI 116 

1461-1485. Chapter XIX. The Yorkist Kings • • . 118-121 

1. The Wars of the Roses 118 

1461. 2. Edward IV.'s claim to the throne 118 

3. Edward quarrels with Warwick 118 

1470-1471. 4. Henry VI. restored 118 

1471-1483. 5. Edward IV. wins back the throne 119 

1483. 6. Edward V 119 

1483-1485. 7. Richard III 120 

1399-1485. Chapter XX. Lancastrian and Yorkist 

Period 122-124 

1. Changes 122 

2. King 122 

3. Parliament 122 

4. Education 123 

5. Printing 123 



PART V. THE TUDOR KINGS. 1485-1603 
1485-1509. Chapter XXI. Henry VII. 125-128 

1485. 1. The union of York and Lancaster 125 

1497. 2. The imposture of Perkin Warbeck 125 

3. The marriages of Henry's Children 126 

4. How Henry VII. increased the royal power . . 127 

5. Maritime enterprise 127 

1509-1547. Chapter XXII. Henry VIII. 129-139 

1. Character of Henry VIII 129 

2. Cardinal Wolsey 129 

3. Wolsey restores the English power abroad . . 131 

4. The divorce of Catharine of Aragon .... 132 
1529. 5. The fall of Wolsey 133 

6. The Reformation 133 

1534. 7. Henry VIII. abolishes the Pope's power in 

England 134 

1535. 8. Execution of Sir Thomas More 135 

1536-1539. 9. The suppression of the monasteries 135 

10. The Engli.sh Bible 137 

11. Anne of Cleves and the fall of Cromwell . . . 137 
1547. 12. The end of Henry VIII.'s reign 138 

13. Henry VIII.'s children 138 



Contents xv 

PAGE 

1547-1558. Chapter XXIII. Edward VI., 1547-1553, 

and Mary, 1553-1558 i40-U4 

1547-1549. 1. Somerset ami the Englisli Prayer-book . . . 140 

1549-1553. 2. Northumherlaiul drives Somerset from power . 140 
1553. 3. The death of Edward VI. and the attempt to 

make Lady Jane Grey queen 141 

" 4. Mary Tudor becomes queen 142 

5. The Spanish marriage 142 

6. Mary and tlie Protestants 143 

1558. 7. Mary's hist years 144 

1558-1603. Chapter XXIV. Elizabeth 14.0-157 

1. Elizabetli, her ministers and favorites .... 14.5 

2. Tlie Churc-Ii finally reformed 145 

0, Elizaljeth and the Puritans 146 

4. Elizal)eth and the l^oman Catholics 146 

5. Mary Stuart and the Reformation in Scotland . 146 

6. Mary Stuart in Scotland 148 

d, 1587. 7. Mary Stuart in England 148 

8. England and Scotland become more friendly . . 149 

9. Elizabeth and Philip of Spain ' . . 149 

10. The discovery of America 150 

11. Quarrels of English and Spanish seamen ... 150 
1577-1580. 12. Drake's voyage round the world 151 

1588. 13. Tlie Invincible Armada defeated 151 

14. Elizai)eth's victories over Spain 152 

15. The Tudor conquest of Ireland 153 

16. The glories of the end of Elizabeth's reign . . 156 

1485-1603. 



Chapter XXV The Tudor Period . . 

1. Changes 


. 158-161 

158 
158 


3 Ivino" anil parliament . . . . . . 


158 




159 


.5 Agriculture . . 


159 




159 


7. Commerce 

8 Education ... . . 


IGO 
160 


9. Firearms 


160 



PART VI. THE STUART KINGS. 1603-1714 

1603-1625. Chapter XXVI. James 1 1 62-169 

1603. 1. James I. becomes Kiug of Great Britain ... 162 

2. And Ireland 163 

3. The new royal arms 164 

4. Beginnings of the Colonial and trading Empire 164 

5. The Stuarts quarrel with their parliaments . . 166 

6. Character of James 1 166 



xvi Contents 

PAGE 

1605. 7. The Gunpowder Plot 167 

8. The Duke of Buckingham 167 

9. James and the Spanish marriage 167 

1625. 10. Failure of the marriage and death of James . . 169 

1625-1649. Chapter XXVII. Charles I i7o-i80 

1. Charles I. and Buckingham 170 

2. War with France and Spain 170 

1628. 3. The Petition of Right 171 

4. Charles sends away his parliament 172 

5. John Hampden resists ship-money 172 

6. Laud and the Puritans 172 

7. The Scots resist Charles 174 

8. Weutworth and '* thorough " 174 

1640. 9. Tlie Long Parliament meets 174 

10. Fall of Strafford and Laud 175 

11. Charles gets the Churcli party on his side . . 175 
1642. 12. Beginning of the great C'ivil War 176 

13. Cavaliers and Koundheads 176 

14. Charles's early victories and failures .... 176 
1645. 15. Cromwell and the New Model — Defeat of Charles 178 

16. Quarrel of the army and parliament .... 178 

1649. 17. The execution of Charles 1 179 

1649-1660. Chapter XXVIII. The Commonwealth • isi-ise 

1649-1653. 1. The Pule of the Kump 181 

1649. 2. The Conquest of Ireland 181 

1650. 3. The Conquest of Scotland 181 

1653. 4. Cromwell made Lord Protector 182 

1653-1658. 5. Cromwell's home government 182 

" " 6. Cromwell and foreign powers 184 

1659. 7. Fall of Richard Cromwell 184 

1660. 8. Monk restores Charles II 184 

1660-1688. Chapter XXIX. Charles II., 1660-1685, 

and James II., 1685-1688 187-196 

1. Character of Charles I r 187 

2. The results of the Restoration 187 

3. The French alliance 188 

4. Commerce and colonies 188 

1665-1666. 5. The Plague, and Fire of London 188 

1673. 6. The Test Act 189 

1678. 7. The Popish Plot 190 

1679. 8. The Haheas Corpus Act and the Exclusion Bill 190 

9. Whigs and Tories 191 

10. The Rve House Plot and fall of the Whigs . . 191 

1685. 11. Early days of James II 192 

" 12. Monmouth's rebellion 192 

13. The suspending power 192 

14. General opposition to Jameo 193 

1688. 15. The Revolution of 1688 194 



Contents xvii 

PAGE 

1689-1702. Chapter XXX. William III, 1689-1702, 

and Mary II., 1689-1694 196-200 

1689. 1. William and Mary made king and queen by 

parliament 196 

2. The Bill of Rights and the Toleration Act . . 196 

3. Beginning of party government 197 

4. The Revolution in Ireland 198 

5. The Revolution in Scotland 199 

6. The war against France 199 

7. William III. and the Jacobites 199 

1702-1714. Chapter XXXI. Anne 201-206 

1. Anne and Marlborough 201 

1702-1713. 2. The War of the Spanish Succession 201 

3. Marlborough's victories 201 

1713. 4. The Tory ministry and the Treaty of Utrecht . 203 

1707. 5. The union with Scotland 204 

1713-1714. 6. The last years of Queen Anne 20.5 

1603-1714. Chapter XXXII. Period of the Stuart 

Kings 207-211 

1. Power of the king 207 

2. Parliament 208 

3. Justice 209 

4. Church 209 

5. Agriculture 209 

6. Commerce 210 

7. Manufactures 211 



PART VII. THE HANOVERIAN KINGS. 

1714-1904 

1714-1727. Chapter XXXIII. George I 212-214 

1. The long Whig rule 212 

1715. 2. The Jacobite revolt of 1715 212 

1720. 3. The South Sea Hubble 214 

1720-1742. 4. Walpole's Ministry 214 

1727-1760. Chapter XXXIV. George II. 215-224 

1720-1742. 1. Walpcle Prime Minister 215 

2. The War of the Austrian Succession .... 215 
1745. 3. The Jacobite revolt of 1745 216 

1745-1746. 4. The march to Derby and the Battle of Culloden 217 

5. Newcastle and the Whig nobles 218 

6. William Pitt 218 

7. Quarrels of the English and French in America 220 

8. And in India . .' 220 

1756-1763. 9. The Seven Years' War 220 



xviii Contents 

PAGE 

1760-1820. Chapter XXXV. George III. 225-239 

1. George III. and the Whif(s 225 

2. George aims at choosing his own ministers . . 225 
1775. 3. Ilevolt of the American Colonies 227 

4. Chatham and America 227 

1783. 5. American independence acknowledged .... 228 

1783-1801. 6. The ministry of the younger Pitt 228 

7. >ingland becomes a manufacturing country . . 230 

1789. 8. The French K evolution 230 

1793-1815 9. The great war against France 231 

10. Napoleon's successes 231 

1793-1806. 11. Pitt prevents changes in Fngland 2,33 

1798. 12. The revolt of 1798 in Ireland 233 

1800. 13. The union of Great Britain and Ireland ... 235 

1801. 14. Pitt's resignation 235 

1807-1830. 15. The long Tory rule 235 

1808-1814. 16. The Peninsular War 236 

1814-1815. 17. The fall of Napolecm 236 

1812. 18. War with America 238 

1820. 19. Death of George III 238 

1820-1837. Chapter XXXVI. George IV., 1820-1830, 

and William IV., 1830-1837 240-244 

1. Character of George IV 240 

2. George Canning 240 

1829. 3. Catholic Emancipation 241 

4. The beginnings of steamships and railways . . 242 

5. The need for reform of parliament 242 

1832. 6. The Reform Bill passed 243 

7. Abolition of negro slavery 243 

8. Peel and the Conservatives 244 

1837-1901. Chapter XXXVII. Victoria 245-261 

1. The Queen and Prince Albert 245 

2. Pepealers and Chartists 245 

3. The Anti-Corn Law League 246 

1841-1846. 4. The Peel Ministry ". . 246 

5. Peel and the Corn Laws 246 

1846. 6. Repeal of the Corn Laws 248 

7. Peelites, Protectionists, and Whigs 248 

1854-1856. 8. The Crimean War 249 

1857. 9. The Indian Mutiny 250 

1865. 10. Death of Palmerston 250 

11. (yivil War in America 250 

12. Gladstone and Disraeli •. . . 252 

1868-1874. 13. Gladstone's first Ministry 2.53 

1874-1880. 14. Disraeli's Ministry . ^ 253 

15. England and Egypt 254 

1884-1885. 16. Home Rule and the third Reform Act . . . . 2.54 

1886. 17. Home Rulers and Unionists 256 

1886-1901. 18. The Unionist Ministries 256 

1899-1902. 19. The Boer War 258 



Contents xix 

PAGE 

1867-1901. 20. The Dominion of Canada and tlie Common- 
wealth of Australia 258 

1901. 21. Deatli of Queen Victoria — Accession of Ed- 
ward VII 260 



1714-1904. Chapter XXXVIII. The Hanoverian 

Period 262-272 

1. Chano^es 262 

2. The kiuu- . . . . " 262 

3. The Cabinet 262 

4. Parliament 263 

5. The Empire 263 

6. The government of the Colonies 264 

7. The industrial Revolution 265 

8. Machinery 266 

9. Capital and labor 266 

10. Labor Unions 268 

11. Trusts 268 

12. Factory legislation 268 

13. Agriculture 269 

14. Transportation 269 

15. Electricity 270 

16. Literature 270 

17. Education 271 

Index 273 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

The New Houses of Parliameut Frontispiece 

Flint Arrow-heads 2 

A British Bronze Helmet 2 

A Bronze Bowl 2 

Bronze Caldron found in Ireland 3 

Flint Implements 4 

Bust of Julius Caisar 5 

A Roman Soldier 7 

A Gold Coin of a British Chief 8 

Weapons of the Anglo-Saxon Period 12 

Remains of a Scandinavian Ship 21 

Old English Glass and Pottery 22 

Edward the Confessor, as depicted on his Great Seal 29 

Stone Church at Bradford (Saxon Architecture) 34 

Country Life in the Eleventh Century 35 

Norman Ships. From the Bayeux Tapestry 39 

Portion of the Bayeux Tapestry, showing (A) the Death of Edward 

the Confessor, (B) his Burial in Westminster Abbey .... 41 

A Scene from the Battle of Hastings (Bayeux Tapestry) .... 44 

The Death of Harold (Bayeux Tapestry) 44 

Porchester Church (Norman Architecture) 54 

Plan of a Manor 57 

Canterbury Cathedral. View of the part East of High Altar where 

Becket's Slirine was placed 64 

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem 68 

Silver Penny of John's Reign 74 

A Knight (to show Armor worn about 1250-1300) 76 

Tomb of Henry III. in Westminster Abbey 77 

Carnarvon Castle 82 

JohnWycliffe 98 

Portion of Page of tlie Manuscript of Wycliffe's Bible 100 

Beverley Minster (Gothic Architecture) 103 

Peasants threshing wheat 106 

Longthorpe Manor House (about a. d. 1235) 107 

Owen Glendower as Prince of Wales Ill 

A Ship of the Fifteenth Century 120 

Henry VIII 130 

Cardinal Wolsey 131 

Catharine of Aragou ..... , 132 

Martin Luther » 134 

The Tower of London and Neighborhood about 1550 136 

Thomas Cranmer 143 

Queen Elizabeth 147 



List of Illustrations xxi 

PAOE 

A Warship of the Sixteenth Century 152 

London and the Thames before the Spire of St. Paul's was burnt . 154 

William Shakespeare 155 

A Milled Half-sovereign of Elizabeth 157 

Armor as worn in Elizabeth's reign 160 

Royal Arms borne by James I. and succeeding Stuart Sovereigns . 164 

George Villiers, First Duke of Buckingham 168 

Charles 1 171 

John Hampden 173 

Soldier armed with a Pike (c//ca 1630) , 178 

A Twenty-sliilling Piece of Charles 1 180 

Oliver Cromwell 183 

A Coach of the Middle of the Seventeenth Century 185 

Old St. Paul's on Fire 1 89 

James II. 193 

William III 197 

Queen Anne 202 

Battle of Blenheim 205 

Soldier with Musket and Crutch {circa 1630) 208 

Mowing Grass in the Eighteenth Century 210 

George I 213 

Sir Robert Walpole 216 

George II 217 

William Pitt, afterwards Earl of Chatham 219 

Robert Clive 222 

A Coach of the Middle of the Eighteenth Century 223 

George III. in 1767 226 

One of the Stamps as appointed to be used under George III.'s 

American Stamp Act 227 

William Pitt the Younger 229 

Lord Nelson . . . .' 232 

The Union Flag 234 

The Duke of Wellington 237 

Napoleon's Medal struck to commemorate the Invasion of England 

which never took place 238 

George IV 241 

Sir Robert Peel 247 

Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beacousfield 251 

William Ewart Gladstone 252 

Queen Victoria 255 

King Edward VII 259 

Hand-Loom in Roman times 264 

The Hand-Loom 265 

An early form of Ste.am-Pump for Mines 266 

Power Loom in Factory 267 

Threshing Machine 269 

A Roman Wagon "... 270 

An early English Steamboat 270 

An early English Locomotive 271 



LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS 

PAGE 

County Map of Modern England and Wales xxviii 

The Roman Advance on Gaul and Bi-itain 6 

The Old Homes of the English 11 

South Britain after the English Conquest (about 600) . . . . , 14 

The Old Homes of the Norseman .... 20 

England, 106G-1485 25 

England after Alfred's Peace witli the Danes 40 

Normandy and South-east Enghmd in 1066 43 

Part of Hampshire, showing the New Forest 49 

The Empire of Henry 11 60 

Map showing Position of Runnymede 71 

Southern Scotland during the later Middle Ages 83 

Battle of Bannockburn 87 

The English Dominions in France after the Treaty of Bretigny, 

1360 93 

Lands held by Henry VI and Charles VII. in France about 1429 . 114 

Map to illustrate the Revolt of the Spanish Netherlands . . . . 150 

The Route of the Spanish Armada 153 

Ireland after the Plantation of Ulster 163 

The New England Colonies, Virginia, New York, and Carolina . . 165 

England and Wales during the Great Civil War 177 

The Position of the Boyne 198 

Map of the Netherlands to illustrate Marlborough's Campaigns . . 203 

The Position of Gibraltar 204 

North America before the Seven Years' War 221 

Map to illustrate the Crimean War 249 

The British Empire in 1901 257 



LIST OF GENEALOGICAL AND 
OTHER TABLES 

fAGB 

Table of Kings and Queens xxiv 

List of Important Dates xxvi 

The Chief English Kings before the Norman Conquest 45 

Genealogy of the Norman Kings 51 

Table showing the Descent of Henry II. from the Norman and 

English l^oyal Houses 59 

Table showing the Descendants of Henry II. down to Edward III. . 65 

Table showing the Claims of Edward III. to the French Throne . . 90 

Table showing the Descendants of Edward III 95 

The Chief Battles of the Wars of the Roses 121 

Genealogy of the Tudor Kings 121 

Genealogy of the House of Stuart 156 

Genealogical Table of the House of Hanover 206 



TABLE OF KINGS AND QUEENS 



THE CHIEF OLD ENGLISH KINGS 

PAGE 

Egbert, King of the West Saxons, J. 839 19 

Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons, 871-899 .... 23 

Edward the Elder, first King of the English, 899-925 .... 26 

Edgar the Peaceful, 959-975 26 

Edward the Martyr, 975-978 27 

Ethelred the Unready, 978-1016 27 

Cnut, 1017-1035 28 

Edward the Confessor, 1042-1066 29 

Harold, Sou of Godwin, 1066 41 

THE NORMAN KINGS 

William I., the Conqueror, 1066-1087 45 

William II, liuf as, 1087-1100 48 

Henry I, 1100-1135 49 

Stephen, 1135-1154 50 

THE HOUSE OF ANJOU 

Henrv II., of Anjou, 1154-1189 59 

Richard I., Lion Heart, 1189-1199 67 

John, 1199-1216 69 

Henry III., 1216-1272 73 

Edward I., 1272-1307 80 

Edward II., of Carnarvon, 1307-1327 86 

Edward III., 1327-1377 89 

Richard XL, 1377-1399 96 

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 

Henry IV., 1399-1413 109 

Henry v., 1413-1422 Ill 

Henry VI., 1422-1461 112 

and 1470-1471 119 

THE HOUSE OF YORK 

Edward IV., 1461-1470 118 

and 1471-1483 119 

Edward v., 1483 , 119 

Richard III , 1483-1485 120 



Table of Kings and Queens xxv 
THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 

PAGE 

Henrv VII., 1485-1509 121 

Henry VIII., 1509-1547 129 

Edward VI., 1547-1553 140 

Mary, 1553-1558 140 

Elizabeth, 1558-1603 145 

THE HOUSE OF STUART 

James I., 1603-1625 162 

Charles I., 162.5-1649 170 

The Commouwealth, 1649-16.53 181 

and 1659-1660 184 

Oliver Cromwell, Protector, 1653-1658 182 

Richard Cromwell, Protector, 1658-1659 184 

Charles II., 1660-1685 187 

James II., 1685-1688 192 

AVilliam III. and Marv II., 1689-1694 } ,„„ 

William III., 1689-170^2 ( ^^^ 

Anne, 1702-1714 201 

THE HOUSE OF HANOVER 

George I, 1714-1727 212 

George II., 1727-1760 215 

George III., 1760-1820 225 

George IV., 1820-1830 240 

William IV., 1830-1837 242 

Victoria, 1837-1901 245 

Edward VIL, 1901- 260 



LIST OF SOME OF THE IMPORTANT 
DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY 

DATE 

B.C. 55. Julius Caesar invades Britain. 
A.D. 410. The Roniaus leave Britain. 

449. Landing of Hengist and Horsa. 

597. Landing of St. Augustine. 

839. Death of Egbert, King of Wessex. 

878. Treaty of Chippenhnni. 

899. Death of Alfred. 

975. Death of Edgar. 

1017. Accession of Cnut. 

1066. The Norman Con(|uest. 

1154. Accession of Henry IL 

1170. Murder of Thomas Becket. 

1189. The Third Crusade. 

1215. Magna Carta. 

1258. Provisions of Oxford. 

1265. Montfort's Parliament and Battle of Evesham. 

1282. Edward L's Conquest of Wales. 

1297. Confirmation of the Charters. 

1298. Battle of Falkirk. 
1314. Battle of Bannockburn. 
1346. Battle of Crecy. 

1356. Battle of Poitiers. 

1381. The Peasants' Revolt. 

1399. The Deposition of Richard IL 

1415. Battle of Agincourt. 

1453. Loss of the English King's Lands in France. 

1455. Beginning of the Wars of the Roses. 

1461. Battle of Towton. 

1485. Battle of Bosworth. 

1513. Battle of Flodden. 

1 529. Fall of Wolsey. 

1534. Henry VLII. passes the Act of Supremacy. 

1536. Suppression of the Smaller Monasteries. 

1549. Somerset introduces the English Prayer-book. 

1553. Failure of Lady Jane Grey. 

1558. Elizabeth restores Protestantism. 

1577. Drake begins his Voyage round the World. 

1587. Execution of Mary Queen of Scots. 

1588. Defeat of the Spanish Armada. 

1603. Union of the English and Scottish Crowns. 



List of Some Important Dates xxvii 

DATE 

1607. Settlement of Virginia. 

1628. The Petition of Kight. 

1640. Meeting of the Long Parliament. 

1642. Beginning of the Great Civil War. 

1645. Battle of ^'aseby. 

1649. Establishment of the Commonwealth. 

1653. Oliver Cromwell made Protector. 

1660. Restoration of Charles II. 

1678. The Popish Plot. 

168.5. Monmouth's Rebellion. 

1689. The Revolution. 

1690. Battle of the Boyne. 
1704. Battle of Blenheim. 

1707. Union of England and Scotland. 

1713. Peace of Utrecht. 

1715. The Jacobite Revolt. 

1720. The South Sea Bubble. 

1742. Fall of Walpole. 

1746. Battle of Culloden. 

1766. Beginning of Seven Years' War. 

1757. Pitt becomes Prime Minister. 

1770. Lord North becomes Prime Minister. 

1775. Beginning of the American War. 

1783. Independence of America acknowledged. 

1783. The Younger Pitt becomes Prime Minister. 

1789. Beginning of the French Revolution. 

1793. England goes to war against France. 

1800. Union of Great Britain and Ireland. 

1805. Battle of Trafalgar. 

1808. Beginning of Peninsular War. 

1815. Battle of Waterloo. 

1829. Catholic Emancipation granted. 

1832. The First Reform Bill. 

1841. Peel's Ministrv begins, 

1846. Corn Laws abolished. 

1854. Crimean War begins. 

1865. Death of Palmerston. 

1884. The Tliird Reform Act. 

1899. Beginning of the Boer War, 

1901. Death of Queen Victoria. 

1901. Accession of Edward VII. 

1902. End of the Boer War. 



REFERENCE. 
Towna above 700,000 Inhabt.CMmffa 
Towns aboue 25,000 inhabt. Derby i 
Towns below 25, 000 inhabt. Oahham 




Longitude West 4 of G 



Longitude o of Greenwich 



frailer &£outaUsc. 



County Map of Modern England and Wales 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



Part I. — Early England. To 1066 

CHAPTER I 
The Britons and the Romans down to 410 

1. History is the subject that tells us what has hap- 
pened to a country or a people in the past. This little 
book aims at telling the history of the Brit- 
ish Islands. These islands consist of an island islands in 
called Great Britain, now divided into Eng^- *^^ earliest 

times. 

land, Scotland, and Wales, and a smaller is- 
land situated to the west of it, called Ireland. Two 
tliousand years ago, however, things were very different 
in Britain from what they are now. There was as yet 
no England, for the English people, who gave England 
her name, had not yet crossed the seas from their old 
homes, which Avere in Germany. Southern Britain was 
inhabited by a people called the Britons^ from whom the 
island took its name of Britain. Yet these Britons were 
not the first people who lived in the island. Before they 
came to the land several other races of men had dwelt 
in it. We know little about these oldest inhabitants. 
We should not know that they ever existed had not 
their old burial-places been dug up from time to time, 
and bones, tools, and weapons been found. Eor a long 



2 The Britons and the Romans down to 410 

time these people did not know tlie use of metals. They 
made tools and weapons out of flint-stones, cleverly cut 





Flint AiTow-heads. 



and sharpened. At last, however, they found out how 
to use bronze and iron. Then they gave up their rough 
flint implements, and fashioned metal ones instead. 




A British Bronze Helmet. 

(Frcm the British Museum ) 



A Bronze Bowl. 



2. We know much more about the Britons than about 
those who had dwelt in the land before their coming. 



The Britons and the Romans down to 410 3 

The Britons were a tall, fair-haired race, and very brave, 
strong, and active. Though herce and savage, they were 
civilized enough to know how to make iron swords to 
fight with, and gold bracelets with which to 
adorn themselves. Their descendants still Britons 
live in the land, though they are not now 
called the Britons, but the Welsh. The Britons spoke 
a language which is an older form of the Welsh lan- 
guage, which is still the mother-tongue of Welshmen. 

3. The Britons did not dwell in every part of Britain. 
In the extreme North, in what are now called the Hi(/h- 
la7ids of Scotland^ there lived a fiercer and 
more warlike race called the Picts. More- '^^^ ^^^Js 

and Scots. 

over, in Ireland there lived a race called the 

Scots. Some of these Scots afterwards crossed over 

from Ireland to Northern Britain, and gave that coun- 




Bronze Caldron fouucl in Ireland. 

try the ncAV name of Scotland^ or land of the Scots. 
Gradually the Picts became mixed up with the Scots, so 
that the descendants of both Picts and Scots came to be 
called the Scots. Then the Scots who were left in Ire- 
land ceased to be called Scots, and were named the Irish. 
Britons, Scots, and Irish were not, however, very differ- 
ent from each other in their habits and speech. All 



The Britons and the Romans down to 410 



Julius 
Caesar 
and the 
Romans 




three belonged to a single great family of nations called 
the Celts, The languages spoken by the Irish and Scots 
are still used by some of their descendants, both in the 
mountains of Northern Scotland and in Ireland. 

4. There dwelt in other lands more civilized people 
than the Britons. Two thousand years ago the Romans 
were the foremost among civilized nations. 
The Romans took their name from the city 
of Rome in Italy. At first they only ruled 
over their own city, but they were so brave 
and wise that they conquered many lands, and at last 
won Gaul^ the country now called France. The Ro- 
man general 
who conquered 
Gaul was Caius 
Julius CcBsar^ 
who was the 
most famous of 
all the Romans. 
After defeat- 
ing the Gauls, 
' Csesar led a 
small army to 
Britain. This 
happened fifty- 
five years be- 
fore the birth 
of Christ. The 
Britons fought 

1. A Hafted Hatchet found in tlie Sol way Moss. SO braVCly 

2. Axe found near Egreton in Cumberland, with wooden oni<oiT-.of Pracov 

handle well preserved. agaiUSt L.aBSai 

(From Evans' "Ancient Stone Implements.") that llC WaS 

soon forced to 
go away. Next year, however, he went back with more 
soldiers, and this time he managed to defeat the Britons. 
Csesar did not, however, stay long in the country. He 




FHnt Implements. 



The Britons and the Romans down to 410 5 

was content to make the Britons pay a sort of tax 
called tribute to the Romans. This was taken as a sign 
that the Britons were the servants of the Romans. 
Then Caesar Avent home, and for nearly a hundred years 
Britain was left to itself. 




Bust of Julius Cfiesar (Naples) . 



5. It was forty-three years after the birth of Christ 
when the Romans at last determined to con- T^e 
quer Britain. It was, however, a slow matter. Roman 
The Britons fought bravely, and, even after of°Somh^ 
they had been conquered, they were continu- Britain, 
ally rebelling and giving the Romans a great deal of 



6 The Britons and the Romans down to 410 

trouble. So slow was the Romans' progress that they 
contented themselves with conquering the South. They 
gave up any attempt to conquer the Picts and Scots who 
lived among the mountains of the extreme north. But 
before long Picts and Scots became so troublesome to 
the Romans, through constantly attacking them, that 




The Roman Advance 
on Gaul & Britain. 



the Romans built a wall between the Firths of Forth 
and Clyde to separate their lands from those beyond 
their power. South of this wall they set up what was 
called the Roman Province of Britain. This took in all 
the districts now called England and Wales, and a part 
of what is now called Southern Scotland. None of these 
names, however, had as yet come into use. 



The Britons and the Romans down to 410 



During 
Britons 
worship 
adopted 
Christ. 



6. Roman rule in Southern Britain lasted for more 
than three hundred years. The Romans Roman rule 
brought in peace, law, and good order. Tliey in South 
built cities, fortresses, and country houses, "^^t^^^- 
and made a large number of good roads, paved with 
stone. They encour- 
aged trade, and taught 
some of the Britons to 
study the Latin, or 
Roman, language. 

this time the 

gave up the 

of idols and 

the faith of 

Some of them 
were so zealous for 
their new religion that 
they went out as mis- 
sionaries to remote 
lands where Christian- 
ity was as yet unknown. 
It was through the 
efforts of these British 
teachers that the people 
dwelling in Ireland 
first became Christians. 

7. Grave trouble 
now fell upon the Ro- 

The end of l^^^^l^^' Their 

Roman rule Empire was 

in Britain, q,.^,.,.,,,, ^. 

fierce German tribes, 
who took up their 
abode in the Roman 
Empire and forced the 
proud Romans to obey 




A Roman Soldier. 



8 The Britons and the Romans down to 410 

them. It became impossible for the Romans to defend 



any longer a distant land like Britain, 
the island altogether. 



In 410 they left 



Summary. Britain an island. Origin of the name Britain. 
Character of the early inhabitants. Caesar's two visits. The 
Roman Conquest. Christianity introduced. The Romans leave. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Why was it hard to 
conquer Britain? Why did the Romans wish to conquer it? 
Was Roman rule a good thing for Britain ? Why did the Romans 
leave ? 

The Roman Invasions: Plenty, G. A., Beric, the Briton. 

The Britons: Church, A. J., The Story of Earhj Britain. 

The Departure of the Romans : Church, A. J., The Count of the 
Saxon Shore. 

Books for Teachers. AVindle, B. C. A., Life in Earhj Britain; 
Scarth, 11. M., Roman Britain. 




A Gold Coin of a British Chief. About a.d. 43. 



CHAPTER II 

How the English came to Britain, 410-597 

1. After the withdrawal of the Romans, the Britons 
had to govern their country as best they could. But 
they began at once to quarrel among them- ^j^^ Britons 
selves, and split up into many little tribes, driven into 
A new trouble soon came upon them. Like ^ ^ ^^** 
the Romans, they were attacked by barbarous invaders. 
For a time they struggled courageously against these 
enemies. But the new-comers were even braver than 
the Britons and a good deal more persevering. Gradu- 
ally they drove the Britons out of all the southern and 
eastern parts of their land, and forced them to take 
refuge amidst the mountains of the West. 

2. The largest district in which the Britons were still 
able to hold their own is that now called Wales. The 
Welsh are the direct descendants of the 

ancient Britons. Their language is sprung vvelsh^are 
from the okl British speech, and their religion 
has continually been that same Christian faith which 
their forefathers first learned from the Romans. Their 
name of Welsh was that given them by the new-comers 
who had supplanted them. 

3. The new-comers to Britain were a German tribe 
called the Angles^ or English. Before they went to 
Britain they lived in northern Germany, on ^, 

^ ^ ^ 1 The coming 

the shores of the North Sea. From them the of the 
southern and eastern parts of Britain got the ^nghsh. 
name of England^ that is to say, the land of the English. 
Their language was called English also, and gradually it 



lo How the English came to Britain [410- 

quite drove out both Welsh and Latin from the parts of 
the island which the English had conquered. The Eng- 
lish spoken by these new invaders was very different 
from the English which is used nowadays. All languages 
are constantly changing, and English has changed more 
than most. We are not able to read or understand the 
English spoken by these invaders, unless w^e learn it like 
a foreign tongue. Nevertheless, it remains the same 
tongue, and has always had the same name. 

4. There were three chief tribes or divisions among 
the English who came to Britain. These were the 

Jutes ^ the Angles^ and the Saxons. They 
divfsions were not, like the English of the present day, 
among the ruled by a single king. They were split up 
"^ ^^ * into a great many little states, each of which 
hatl a king of its own. This had been the case with the 
English when they lived in Germany, and this system 
still went on when they took up their abode in England. 
Some of these kingdoms were formed by each of the 
three divisions of the English race. The least important 

and smallest of these three branches were the 
The Jutes, j^^^^g Their chief settlement was the king- 
dom of Kent^ a district much the same as modern Kent. 
This was the first English settlement to be made. The 
Jutes came in 449, and the first English kings of Kent 
were the brothers Hengist and Horsa. The other parts 
of the south of England were settled by the second of 

the two great divisions of the English people, 
The Saxons. ^^^^ g^^xons. The Saxons set up the king- 
doms of Essex, Sussex, Wessex, and others. These names 
mean the land of the East Saxons, South Saxons, and 
the West Saxons. Of these, Wessex, or the land of 
the West Saxons, became much the largest and most 
important. 

5. The third branch of the English were the Angles. 
The Angles conquered northern, central, and eastern 



-597 



.] How the English came to Britain 



England, where they established three chief kingxloms. 
The most northerly of these was Nortlmmhria, or North- 
umberland, that is, the land north of the 
river Humber. There was an eastern king- ^^^ ^^gies. 
dom called East Anglia, which took in Norfolk and 
Suffolk. The middle Anglian kingdom was called 
Mcrcia, which means the March or boundary between 




The old Homes of the English. 

the English and the Welsh. The above-mentioned 
seven kingdoms were not all those set up by the 
English invaders, but they were tlie most important of 
them and the ones that lasted louQ-est. 

6. It took about a hundred and fifty years for all 
these changes to take place. 13ut at last the English 
ceased to swarm over the Nortli Sea to Britain. There 



12 How the English came to Britain [410- 

was still, however, a great deal of fighting all over the 
country. Not only were the English always waging war 
^^ ^ ,. • against the Welsh, hut both Welsh and Enor- 

The fighting t i p i ^ n -, , , ^ 

between the hsh lougiit a great deal among themselves. 
English It was lucky for the Welsh that the English 

Kinsfcloms. . 

did not ap'ree with each other. If the Ene- 
lish had kept together they would probably have driven 
the Welsh out of the island altoo-ether. As it was. 




Weapons of the Anglo-Saxon Period. 

(British Museum.) 

however, they failed to make such great progress against 
them as they might have made. Yet the English grad- 
ually conquered the lands held by the Welsh, in spite 
of the heroic resistance of King Arthur, that brave 
king of the Welsh about whom history has told us so 
little, and legend so much. Some hundred years after 
this the only people called the Welsh were those who 
lived in the modern Wales. 

7. The three English kingdoms that profited most 
by the conquests of Welsh land soon proved to be the 
greatest and strongest of all the English kingdoms. 
These were Northumbria, Wessex, and Mercia. Mean- 



-697.] How the English came to Britain 13 

while, the different English kings were, as we have 
seen, fighting as fiercely against each other as they 
fought against the Welsh. The result of ^ ^ 
these wars was that the stronger kings con- chief English 
querecl the weaker kings. Thus it fol- kingdoms. 
lowed that the number of states in England was con- 
stantly getting smaller. At last there were only four 
kingdoms of any importance left. We have already 
spoken of three of these four, namel}^ Northumbria, 
Mercia, and Wessex, all of which added to their poAver 
by conquering English as Avell as Welsh lands. The 
fourtli kingdom worth remembering was Kent. This 
was not because Kent Avas very powerful in itself, but 
because it was to Kent that there now came the preach- 
ers of the faith of Christ. 

Summary. The Britons quarrel among themselves. The 
Jutes, Angles, and Saxons come over and drive the Britons into 
the West of England. Four chief English kingdoms established. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Why did the Jutes, 
Angles, and Saxons come to Britain? Compare their reasons for 
coming with those of the Romans. 

King Arthur: Bulfinch, T., Age of Chivalry; Church, A. J., 
Heroes of Chivalry and Romance; Lanier, S., The Boy's King 
Arthur: Lanier, S., Mabinogion ; Pyle, H., The Story of King 
Arthur and his Knights. 

Hengist and Horsa : Crake, A. D., Stories from Old English 
History. 

Anglo-Saxon Conquest: Crake, A. D., The Doomed City. 

Books for Teachers. Green, J. R., The Making of England ; 
Freeman, E. A., Old English History. 



14 How the English came to Britain 




Walker & Cockerell sc. 



CHAPTER III 

How the English became Christians, 597-664 

1. The English invaders of Britain were heathens, 
worsliipping many gods. As they drove the Welsh into 
the West, they stamped out the Christian ^^^^ religion 
faith in all the districts which they con- of the old 
quered. There was little chance of the Eng- "^ ^^ • 
lish learning about Christianity from the Britons. The 
two nations hated each other so much that it was not 
likely, either that the Welsh would wish to teach the 
English their religion, or that the English would be 
willing to listen to anything the Welsh had to tell them. 
Yet, so long as the English still worshipped their cruel 
heathen gods, they could not understand the gentler 
ways of civihzed life. 

2. Rome still held the chief place in the civilized 
world. Though the Roman Empire had decayed, Rome 
still ruled the minds of men through the 

Roman bishop. The Bishop of Rome was ory and the 
called the Pope, — that is, the father. He was ^^''^f^j^^g 
believed to be the greatest of all bishops, and 
was the head of the Christian Church. It now happened 
that, about a hundred and fifty years after the English 
began to settle in Britain, a very good and wise man 
called Gregory the G-reat became Pope, or Bishop of 
Rome. Long before he had become Pope he had greatly 
admired some fair-haired English slave-children stand- 
ing for sale in the market at Rome. He asked to what 
nation they belonged, and was told tliey were Angles. 



i6 How the English became Christians [597- 

'' They are not Angles," said he : " they have the faces 
of angels." He then asked what was the name of their 
king, and was told he was a heathen called Alle. 
" Then," said Gregory, " shall Alleluia be sung in AUe's 
land." For a time Gregory wished to go himself as a 
missionary to preach the gospel to the heathen Eng- 
lish ; but when he was made Pope he had too much to 
do at Rome to be able to carry out his wish. Neverthe- 
less, he did not forget the English slave-boys, and at 
last sent Augustine as a missionary to preach the faith 
of Christ to the heathen English. 

3. In 597 Augustine landed in Kent. Now, it hap- 
pened that Kent was ruled in those days by a king 
Mission of Called EthelheH^ the most famous of all the 
Augustine kings of the Kentishmen. Ethelbert gave 

Augustine a cordial welcome, and permitted 
him to preach the gospel to his subjects. Before long 
Ethelbert himself and most of his people were baptized 
into the new faith. Augustine was made Archbishop 
of all the English Church. He took up his abode at 
Canterbury, the town in which the kings of Kent 
generally lived. Thus he became the first Archbishop 
of Canterbury. 

4. The conversion of Kent was the beginning of the 
conversion of all England. First, the little neighbor- 
^ ,. ino^ kingdom of Essex was won over to the 

Paulinus IS „., ii-i • , p- 

sent to new laith, and a bishopric set up lor it at 

Northum- Loiidoii, wliicli was already the most impor- 
tant trading town in Britain. And after 
thirty years, Ethelbert \s son-in-law Edwiii^ King of the 
Northumbrians, was baptized by Paulinus^ the chaplain 
of his Kentish wife. Tliereupon Paulinus became the 
first Archbishop of York. And the conversion of 
Edwin was the more important, since he ruled over a 
much greater kingdom than the little realm of Kent. 
The conversion of Edwin took place in 627. 



-664.] How the English became Christians 17 

5. Not all the English were of the same mind. The 
fiercer among them despised the Christians because their 
religion taught them to be merciful and 

humble. They preferred the heathen gods, betwefn^he 
who were supposed to be as cruel as the Christians 
English warriors themselves. Thus the old heathens, 
faith died hard. Edwin himself was slain in 
battle by a heathen king, and tliere were many years of 
struggle before the Christian faith Avas firmly established 
all over England. 

6. The hardest struggle was in the North ; and here 
the Christians might well have been beaten, but that 
the Irish Scots sent missionaries to the ^.^ 

. Aldan and 

Northumbrians m the dark days that lol- the conver- 
lowed the slaying of Edwin. The chief of ^i°^ ?^ ^^^ 

Till North. 

these was Aidan^ Avho had been brought up 

in the little island of lona^ off the west coast of Scotland, 
which was the most famous centre of religion and learn- 
ing in the land of the Scots. Aidan became bishop of 
the Northumbrians, and chose as his abode the island of 
Lindisfarne off the Northumbrian coast, which reminded 
him of his desolate old home. Thus was Christianity 
firmly established in the North. The other kingdoms 
learned Christianity one after the other. At last, after a 
sixty years' struggle, Pope Gregory's hopes were ful- 
filled, and all the English became Christians. When, 
however, this was brought about, the good Pope and his 
fellow-woikers had long been dead. 

Summary. Tlie English lieatheiis. Pope Gregory sends St. 
Augustine to convert them to Christianity. Kent converted ; 
then Northumbria. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Find out after whom 
the days of our week are named. (Consult the dictionary.) What 
does this fact tell you about the religion of the English ? Com- 
pare their religion with that of the Romans. 

St. Augustine's Mission : Holt, E. S., Imogene. 

2 



i8 How the English became Christians 

Conversion of the North : Kingsley, C, The Hermits. 
Ethelbert : Mercier, Anne, By the King and Queen. 
Edwin: Gordon, W. J., The Kings Thane. 

Books for Teachers. (See Chapter II. of this book.) Cutts, 
E. L., Augustine. 




A Gold Coin of the Emperor Severus, struck a.d. 201. 



CHAPTER IV 

The Union of England and the Coming of the Danes, 

664-899 



1. The English were now united in the same religion. 
Not very long afterwards they became united under a 
single king. We have seen how the old 

English kings were always lighting with land^bec^e 
one another, and how the stronger ones were united under 
always conquering the weaker rulers. But and one king, 
these conquests did not generally last very 
long. Sometimes one king, sometimes another, gained 
the upper hand. At one time the strongest kings were 
the kings of the Northumbrians. Then came the turn 
of the kings of the Mercians. But the Mercian power 
passed away like that of the Northumbrians. At last 
the southern kingdom of the West Saxons won for itself 
the position of leadership. 

2. Wessex became the chief English state in the days 
when Egbert was King of the West Saxons. But though 
Egbert had forced all the other kings to 
recognize that he was the strongest of the wesYex? 
rulers of England, he was not King of all the 

English in the way that Edward VII. is now ruler of all 
the land. There were still many separate kingdoms, each 
witli its own king, and managing its own affairs. And 
Egbert was not called King of all the English, but only 
King of the West Saxons and overlord of all England. 
But the power which he established over the other 
English kings proved a lasting one, and gradually the 



20 Union of England and Coming of the Danes [664- 



descendants of Egbert became kings of all the land. 
The royal honse of Wessex became the royal house of 
England, and the blood of Egbert still runs in the veins 
of Edward VII. 

3. Egbert was a strong king, and maintained peace. 
But after his death in 839, things went badly for Wessex, 

and even in his lifetime a new race of in- 
The Danish y^^ders came from beyond the sea and inflicted 

invasions. in- i -r-i t i n^ 

untold misery upon the English. Ihese 
people were the Danes and Norsemen^ who came from 
Denmark and Norway. Like the English when tliey 

had first crossed over 
into Britain, the Danes 
were very brave and 
hardy, but very fierce 
and cruel. At first 
they came simply to 
rob. Every summer 
they sailed in their 
long low ships to the 
English coast, and 
when winter came, they 
Avent home to the north 
to revel on the plunder 
that they had collected. 
Before long they found 
out that England was a pleasanter place to live in 
than their own country. Then they strove, like the 
English before them, to make new homes for themselves 
in Britain. 

4. Egbert himself could not drive the Danes away, 
and his son and grandsons were still less able to hold 

their own against them. The Danes con- 
quered much of northern and eastern Eng- 
land, and in 871 began to attack Wessex. 
Luckily, at this moment the best of Egbert's grandsons 




The old Homes of the Norsemen. 



The Danes 

attack 

^A^essex. 



-899.] Union of England and Coming of the Danes 21 

had just mounted the throne. This was Alfred, the 
greatest of all the early kings. 

5. At first the Danes were too strong for Alfred. He 
was forced to take refuge in the little island 
of Athelney in the midst of the marshes of ^g^olnes^ 
Somerset. But he soon came out of liis 
hiding-place. He Avon a great victory over the Danes, 
and forced them to make treaties with him. 











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Remains of a Scandinavian Ship. 

[Now in the University at Christiania. ) 



6. The most famous of these treaties was the Treaty 
of Cldppenham of 878. By it Alfred agreed to divide 
England with tlie Danes. The Danes took r^^^ Treat 
northern and eastern England, and ruled it of Chippen- 
as they pleased. This district was now called 
the Dane laii\ that is, the country in which the Danish 
law prevailed. But tliere was no great difference between 
the English and Danes, and the Danes soon began to 



22 Union of England and Coming of the Danes [664- 

learn the English tongue and customs. The greatest 
difference at first had been tliat the Danes were heath- 
ens, Avhile the Enghsh were Christians. But 
law. Alfred persuaded them to become Christians. 

When the Danes got used to their new re- 
ligion, they became very much like the English, except 
that they still remained somewhat stronger and braver. 



Old English Glass and Pottery. 

7. The Danes did one good thing for Alfred. They 

had settled in Northumbria, northern Mercia, and East 

,, , Anglia, and had destroyed the old lines of 

How Alfred , . ^ .' -, v ^ • ^ a i -i 

became the kmgs lu those districts. And there were so 
chief king in nianv little Danish states set up in the Dane 

England. , -^ , „ ., i i i 

law that not one oi them could be very 
powerful. Hence their princes were soon forced to rec- 
ognize Alfred as their master. Thus Alfred was able 
to restore the overlordship of Wessex, which his grand- 
father had established, and which the Danish invasions 
had threatened to destroy. Though he never called him- 



-899.] Union of England and Coming of the Danes 23 

self more than King of the West Saxons, Alfred was 
really the first King of all the English. 

8. Alfred was as wise in peace as he was brave in 
war. He took care to Avard off future invasions of the 
Danes by setting up a new and a better army 

than England had had before. jNIoreover, did for the 
he was not content to wait until the Danes English army 

and navy. 

landed. He bunt snips that might go out 
and attack the Danes on the sea, and thus save England 
the miseries of invasion. This is the first English navy 
of which history tells us, and we may therefore look 
upon Alfred as the founder of England's greatness on 
the sea. 

9. Alfred brought back prosperity to England. He 
built churches, and trained priests to preach religion 
to his subiects. He loved learning- and 

^u £ ^ 1 TT ^ Why Alfred 

the company 01 learned men. He set up ^vas called 
schools, and wrote books in the English Alfred the 

Great- 
tongue instead of the Latin, that they might 

be more generally understood by his people. He col- 
lected the old laws of the English, and added to them 
some new ones of his own. He was not only wise, but 
good, and the most precious example that he set to his 
people was in his pure, noble, and holy life. Though 
constantly suffering from poor health, he never lost 
courage and heart in laboring for the good of his king- 
dom. When he died in 899,^ England was stronger, 
better, wiser and more united than he had found it. 
He was called Alfred the Grreat^ and though more than 
a thousand years have passed away since he died, his 
name is still held in high honor. 

Summary. The Church helps to unite England into one 
kingdom. Egbert and his grand.son Alfred have great trouble 

1 Professor W. H. Stevenson has shown that the date of Alfred's death 
was 899, and not 901 as nsually given. 



24 Union of England and Coming of the Danes 

with Danish invaders, and Alfred has to divide England with 
them. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Compare the invasion 
of the Danes with those of the Koinans and the Saxons. Was 
the Danish invasion a good thing for England ? 

King Alfred: Hnghes, T., Alfred the Great ; Tappan, E. M., 
In the Days of Alfred the Great. 

Danish Invasions : Henty, G. A., The Dragon and the Raven. 

The Danes: Engelbach, A., The Danes in England. 

Alfred's Boyhood: Fenn, G, M., The King's So7is. 

Books for Teachers. (See Chapter II.) Green, J. R., The 
Conquest of England; Plummer, A., Life and Times of Alfred the 
Great. 



Union of England and Coming of the Danes 25 



ENGLAND 
after Alfred's Peace with the Danes, 




Walker & Cockerell sc. 



CHAPTER V 
From Alfred to Edward the Confessor, 899-1066 

1. For more than seventy years after the death of 
Alfred, the England which he had left united and pros- 
How Alfred' P^^o^^ continued to flourish. The kings 
successors were brave and hard-working, and, though 
o"h"lniulh they had plenty of fighting to do, they were 
and Emperors generally able to put down their enemies. 
of Britain. Alfred's son, Ediuard the Elder, dropped his 
father's title of King of the West Saxons, and called 
himself King of the English. Edward died in 925. 
Before long even the name of King of the English was 
not grand enough for his successors. They conquered 
the Dane Law ; they subdued the Welsh and the Scots. 
They began to call themselves Emperors of Britain. In 
those days the title Emperor was the grandest a man 
could have, since it had been borne by the Roman 
Emperors, the lords of all the civilized world. 

2. The most famous of the successors of Alfred was 
his great-grandson. King Edgar, who ruled over the 

English from 959 to 975. His was the only 
Khie Edffa° I'^ign in those fierce old days in which 

England remained long at peace. For this 
reason men called the king Edgar the Peaceful. Edgar 
ruled not only over England, but also over the whole 
of Britain, though the Scotch and the Welsh still had 
kings of their own. These kings acknowledged Edgar 
as their overlord. A story is told that during Edgar's 
reign there was a great gathering of these dependent 
kings to meet their overlord, Edgar, at Chester. After 



1066.] From Alfred to Edward the Confessor 27 

they had taken counsel togetlier, it was said that eight 
kings rowed Edgar in a boat up the river Dee. 

3. Edgar's peaceful reign was largely due to his chief 
minister Dunsta^i, Archbisliop of Canterbury. Dunstan 
was the wisest Englishman of his time, and 

the first English statesman who was neitlier a Dunstan.°^ 
king nor a warrior. lie was a pious bishop, 
who did a great deal for religion, education, and learn- 
ing. But he was also very anxious to make all the 
different races who dwelt in England live quietly and 
on friendly terms with eacli other. In particular, he 
tried to keep the Danes, wdio lived in the Dane law, and 
the English from quarrelling with each other. Luckily, 
the two peoples were now so much alike that it was 
not very hard to make them agree. Thus it was that 
England remained at peace, thanks to Edgar and 
Archbishop Dunstan. 

4. Evil times began when Edgar was dead. He left 
two sons, Edivard and Ethelred. The elder of these 
succeeded to the throne, but was cruelly 
murdered after a very short reio^n. For "J^^ ^^^¥^1 °^ 

•^ , » Edward the 

this reason men called him Edward the Martyr and 
Martyr. His brother Ethelred now became un^ready.'^^ 
king. Ethelred was a bad ruler. He re- 
fused to take the advice of the nobles, and was therefore 
called E^thelred the Unready, a term which at that time 
meant wanting in counsel. But he was not wise or 
strong enough to rule properly by himself. Under his 
weak government the land lost its prosperity, and every- 
where fighting and confusion were renewed. 

5. After a few years of troubles, fresh Danes came 
from Denmark, and began to plunder the land and 
destroy the people. Since the days of Alfred r^^^ Danes 
the Danish invasions had ceased, and the again invade 
only Danes that had given trouble had been ^^g^^^'^- 
the Danes dwelling in England. But Ethelred's weak- 



28 From Alfred to Edward the Confessor [893- 

ness once more tempted the Danes living in their land 
to take ship for the island; and now there was no one 
like Alfred to withstand them. 

6. Ethelred was afraid to fight the Danes, He 
thought it was easier to bribe them to go away peace- 
ably. He therefore raised a tax called Dane- 
gcld^ that is, Danes' money, and paid it over 

to them, hoping that they would go away. Next year 
they naturally came back again, and Avanted more 
money. The more Ethelred bribed the Danes, the 
more they came to England to get his treasure. 

7. Even Ethelred saw that it was of no use to raise 
any more Danegeld, so he tried another way of getting 
The Danes ^^^ ^^ ^^^ enemies. By his orders many of 
conquer the Danes settled in England were suddenly 

"^ ^" * set upon and murdered. This cruelty only 
made the Danes in Denmark eager to go once more to 
England to avenge their slaughtered fellow-countrymen. 
At last Swegen^ King of all Denmark, came and con- 
quered England. After that he died; and Ethelred 
died soon after. 

8. There was now more fighting, but soon Cnut^ 
Swegen's son, made himself King of all England. The 

Eng'lish g-ladly took him as king^, since he 

Cnut, King ^ ^ \ • i i i n 

of England was a bravc and a wise man, who ruled well, 
^^ , and brouo^ht back the peace that had been 
unknown since the death of Edgar. Under 
him England was once more prosperous. Not only did 
Cnut rule the English justly, but he called upon them 
to help him govern his own kingdoms of Denmark and 
Norway. Cnut was a pious Christian, and eager to 
make all his subjects more civilized. He knew that the 
English were better educated and more civilized than 
the rough Danes and Norwegians. He therefore believed 
that the English were likely to make the Danes more 
peaceable and religious. Cnut knew that the Danes 



■1086 ] From Alfred to Edward the Confessor 



29 



fought better than the English, and his Danish warriors 
were very useful in keeping England quiet. 

9. Cnut died soon, and his two sons were men very 
different from their father. Both reigned badly and died 
shortly afterwards. Thereupon the English 
tliought it was time to bring back their old of Edward 
line of kings. Tliey sent to Normandy for the 
Edward^ the son of Ethelred tlie Unready, 
and his Norman wife Emma. In 1042 Edwai'd became 
King of the English, and reigned until 1066. He was a 







Edward the Confessor as depicted on his Great Seal. 



very good and religious man. He was therefore called 
Edward the Confessor, that is, Edward the Saint. He 
cared much more for the Church than for the people, 
and built the famous Westminster Abbey. As he was 
not fierce or warlike, this good man did not prove such 



30 From Alfred to Edward the Confessor [i066. 

a useful kiuo- as the foreio-n Cnut. Edward had been 
brought up in his mother's huid of Normandy, and all 
through his reign showed such love to Normans that 
he gave them everything that he had to give. Under 
his weak rule the Norman conquest of England really 
begins. 

Summary. Edgar, the great-grandson of Alfred, increases the 
power of the king. Dunstau helps him. Edgar's son Ethelred 
is so weak that the Danes invade England. Cnut of the Danes 
makes himself king of all England. After his death and the death 
of his sons, Edward the Confessor, son of Ethelred, is made king. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Why was Cnut's rule 
better for the English (1) than Ethelred's? (2) than Edward the 
Confessor's ? Why was it that the wisest men of this time were 
in the Church ? 

Cnut and Edmund Ironside: Crake, A. D., Alfgar the Dane. 

Struggles against the Danes: Whistler, C. W., King Olaf's 
Kinsman. 

Danish Conquest : Whistler, C. W., Wulfric, the Weapon Thane. 

Books for Teachers. (See Chapters II. and IV.) 




A Gold Coin of a British Chief. 



CHAPTER YI 

Institutions of Early England 

1. In very early times, while the Saxons and Angles 
were still in Germany, they were in a state of civilization 
somewhat similar to that of the North Amer- 
ican Indians when Columbus discovered 
America. They were divided into tribes, and over each 
of these was a chief chosen by the members of the tribe 
for his bravery in war. In times of peace the chief also 
acted as judge, but if he proved a poor leader in war or 
peace, the members of the tribe would replace him with 
a better man. About the chief were grouped the otlier 
wari'iors of the tribe. Each of the strongest and bravest 
of them had grouped about him a certain number of 
men with whom he went on plundering expeditions. It 
was on expeditions of this sort that the Angles and 
Saxons came to Britain ; and after returning again and 
again for more booty they linally settled on the island. 
The leaders of these expeditions, through holding the 
place of leader so long, came to be looked upon as kings, 
and, if there was no objection on the part of their fol- 
lowers, their sons were chosen to the same office. How- 
ever, the Saxons never lost sight of the fact that they 
had the right to elect and depose their leaders or kings. 

2. In their original homes in Germany all the mem- 
bers of a tribe had a share in advising the leader, as well 
as in electing or deposing him. But the ^^^^ witen- 
advice of the bravest and the strongest and age mot or 
the oldest naturally carried most weight, and ^°u"<=^^- 
as the years wore on the business of advising the leader 



32 Institutions of Early England 

fell into the hands of these men. In England this body 
of men came to be called the Wite7iagemot, that is, the 
gemot or meeting of the Wise Men or Witan^ and the 
rio-ht of all the members of the tribe to share in its 
counsels was gradually lost sight of. With the growth 
of population the assembling of all the men of the tribe, 
or nation as it had now grown to be, became impossible 
and the business of conducting the government fell 
entirely into the hands of the king and the Witan — 
the latter assuming the rights of electing and deposing 
the king, and of making grants of land, together with 
such other rights as the members of the tribe had 
originally held. 

3. (a) Methods of Trial. In early times, when one 
man injured another, the injured man and his relatives 

would try to do an equal injury to the guilty 
•'"^ ^ ' man and his family. A feud was then said 

to exist between the families, and this feud sometimes 
went on until both families were entirely killed off. As 
men became more civilized the injured man and his 
family would accept a mone}^ payment, or a payment in 
cattle or goods, for the injuiy done. This payment was 
called the luergeld, or man-money, and it gradually took 
the place of the feud because the king and the Church 
were becoming stiong enough to force the wrong-doer 
to pay, and the injured man to accept this payment. 

It was not always possible, however, to tell who com- 
mitted a crime, for many crimes, such as murder and 

stealing, were often done in secret. Any man 
tioJT^"^^^" accused of a crime was believed to be guilty, 

and had to prove himself innocent. He did 
this by declaring on oath that he was innocent, and by 
getting a certain number of men to come before the 
court and swear that they believed he was telling the 
truth. These men were called compurgators and the 
process was called compurgation (cleansing together). 



Institutions of Early England 33 

If the accused could not get the necessary compurgators, 
or for one reason or another was not allowed to prove 
his innocence by this method, he had to prove it by the 
ordml. There were many kinds of ordeals, probably the 
most common being the tiial by hot ivater. 
By this the accused plunged his arm into 
scalding water. The arm was then bandaged, and if at 
the end of three da3^s it was nicely healed, the accused 
was considered innocent, but if it was festered, he was 
guilty. To the priests was left the decision as to the 
condition of the heabng, so you may see that it was they 
Avho really determined the guilt or innocence of a man. 
If guilty, the accused had to pay the fine for the crime. 

{h) Courts. A kingdom was divided into districts 
called shires., the shires into districts called hundreds, and 
the hundreds into districts called tovmships. The assem- 
blies of the citizens of these districts w^ere the courts, and 
the members of the assemblies acted as judges. When 
an accused man was brought before them, they did not 
weigh evidence and pronounce judgment as our courts 
do. The}^ simply decided which form of trial the 
accused would have to use to prove his innocence. 

The highest court in tlie land consisted of tlie king 
and the Witan, but cases were very seldom taken so 
high. They were ordinarily decided in the assembly of 
the hundred (hundred-moot^., but an appeal could be 
made to the assembly of the shire {shire-moot. ) Below 
the hundred-moot was the town-meeting (town-moot), 
but few if any cases for trial were brought before it. 

4. Before coming to Britain the Angles and Saxons 
believed in many gods sucli as the Sun, the Moon, Thiu 
(god of war), Woden (god of all gods), 
Thor (god of thunder), Freya (goddess of ^ ^§^^o"- 
love). So great was their influence on the life of the 
people that the days of the week were named after them. 
The Angles and Saxons found that the native Britons 

3 



34 



Institutions of Early England 



had Ixien coiivorU^d to (Jlnistiaiiity Iroiii the ancient 
faith of I)rui(hsiii. 'Hie ))ii(jsts of this religion were 
called Druids, and a temple of theii-s called Stonehenge 
is still standing. The Angles and Saxons, as we saw, 




Saxon Stone Churcli at Bradfonl-on-Avon. 

(Sliowiii(( 8axoM Htyle of architw:tiir<;.) 

did not at iiist ;idopt ( 'lii-istianity, Ijiit \vli(;)i tli(;y did 
and l)(;canic nnunlxii's of the great ('atholic (>lnn-ch, any 
man vviio rl(;chii(;d himscdl Jiot a ni(;nd>(;r ol that Churcii 
was an (;ii(;niy of (lod, and to })e an (jnt^niy of (iod was 
as had as to h(j an (Miciiiy of th(; king. 

At the head of the ('liiirch was tiie J\jpe at Home. 
ih; was r(ipr(^sent(;d in iMigland by archbishops who had 
under thciin bishops, and these in turn had under them 
priests. These men had charge; of churches, large or 
small, and attend(;d to the rehgious (Mlucation of men. 
I>esides these clergymen wlio were known as the Hccular 
denjy there W(;re others, prin(;i pally in Ireland and the 
north of l^wMgland, who were known as th(; regular clergy 
b(u;aus(; th(;y liv(;d in monast(;i'i(;s and followed a f;(;rtain 
refpila^ or rnh;. At the head of th(; monastery was the 
abbot, }Uid undei' him w(;r'(; c(;riain oth(;r officials and 
the monks. St. Patrick of Ji(;land was a monk, and 
founded the system of monasteries in that country. 



Institutions of Early England 35 

5. .Viuoug the Angles and Saxons, oveu before they 
came to England, there were three classes of people; 
noble, free, and servile. The last elass was 
inereased in nnniber by the enslavement of peop^^^ ° 
some of the captive l>ritons. The land which 
the Angles and Saxons eonqnered Avas taken by certain 
families, noble or free, who settled down in groups upon 








Si 



I'hniijhiug ami Sowing. 




Moirhuj. 




<^J 



lazii 




l'lircs/ii)i;/ mul ]\"ninoiri)i<r. 

Country Life in the KK'venlh Coiitury. 

^K^olu an old u\auusiTipt. ) 



the old l\onian estates ov r///(/.s' which they found vacant. 
These they began to eultivate, and as they could r.iise 
there all the necessaries of life they did not have to go 
outside of the village to trade. Agriculture was the 



36 Institutions of Early England 

chief industry and was mainly carried on by the free- 
men and the servile class. The members of the latter 
class were of two kinds : the slaves, who were sold like 
cows or horses, and the serfs, who were the property of 
their masters, but were generally sold along with the 
land. A noble was usually wealthier, more powerful 
and more influential than the freeman, though the latter 
by possessing himself of much land might become a 
member of the nobility. Even members of the servile 
class could be freed. 

6. When the Angles and Saxons first came to Eng- 
land they destroyed most of the Roman walled towns 

because they did not like to live in them, but 
preferred to settle in small villages or town- 
ships. Some of these were independent of everybody 
but the king. Others were under the control of some 
great lord. In the independent town the town-moot or 
meeting of the freemen chose the town-reeve, an officer 
corresponding to our mayor, but as the king grew 
stronger he frequently appointed this officer just as 
the lords did in the dependent towns which were on 
their lands. 

7. In these early and troublous times there were cer- 
tain groups of men organized in bodies called (j/ilds. 

Some gilds were for purely religious pur- 
poses such as providing for the funeral ser- 
vices and burial of their members, or protecting the 
widows and orphans ; others (frith-gilds) were made up 
of men banded together to see that the peace of the 
community was not disturbed by wicked men ; and still 
others were for purely social purposes like our clubs. 
More important than any of these was the gild-merchant. 
This was an organization of the merchants of a town to 
protect and encourage trade. 



Institutions of Early England 37 

Summary. The office of king, at first elective, becomes heredi- 
tary. The Witan control the king and have the power of the old 
tribe. The methods of trial are the compurgation and ordeal and 
the courts are the Witenagemot, the shire-court, the hundred-court 
and the town-court. The clergy are divided into regular and 
secular. The classes are the noble, freeman, serf, and slave. 
Agriculture on the villa is the main occupation. Independent 
and dependent towns. Peace-gilds and merchant-gilds. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. What is a monarchy? 
What body in \he United States corresponds to the Witan ? Is 
there any place that you know of where the feud still exists ? 
What difference is there between compurgators and the modern 
jw'i/ f What did a German think a " festered " hand showed, and 
why ? 

Early Government : Kendall, E. K., Source Book of English 
History, pp. 6-11. 

Anglo-Saxon Laws: Kendall, E. K,, Source Book of English 
History, pp. 17-20; Hughes, T., Alfred the Great, ch. vii. 

Books for Teachers. (See chapters II., III., IV. of this 
book.) Allen, Grant, Anglo-Saxon England. 



Part IL — The Norman Kings. 1066-1154 

CHAPTER VII 
The Norman Conquest, 1066 

1. We have learned that Emma, Edward the Confes- 
sor's mother, was a Norman^ and that Edward had been 

brought up in Normandy and loved his 
Normandy ^^^^ther's countrymen. We must now learn 

who these Normans were, and where they 
lived. It is very important to know these things, 
because all English history after Edward the Confessor's 
time would have been quite different if he had not given 
the Normans a chance of establishing themselves in 
England. 

2. The Normans were, to begin with, simply a branch 
of the Danish or Norse race. They were called Normans 
Normandy ^^ Northmen on the Continent, because they 
and the came from the North. About the time when 
Normans, ^^^clq of these Northmen were plundering and 
conquering the England of King Alfred, other warriors 
of the same race were devastating the northern parts of 
France. At last they conquered a large district in 
northern France, situated on both banks of the river 
Seine, and exactly opposite the south coast of England. 
This land became known as Normandy, or the land of 
the Normans, and now made a sort of French Dane law. 
Its capital was the city of Rouen, on the Seine. Its 
ruler was called the Duke of the Normans. 



1066. 



The Norman Conquest 



39 



3, The French kings were strong enough to make the 

Norman dukes recognize them as overlords. But they 

were not so powerful as the English kinoes, 

T ,11, nvT 11 How the 

and were not able to conquer JNormandy and Normans 

rule it, as Alfred's successors had conquered became like 

_ _ - -^ -r , . Frenchmen. 

the Englisli Dane law. More than this, tlie 

Norman dukes only obeyed the French kings when they 

chose, and were really quite independent. Just as the 




Norman Ships. 

(From the Bayeux Tapestry.) 

Danes in England became like other Englishmen, so 
the Normans in France became like other Frenchmen. 
They spoke tlie French tongue, adopted the French laws 
and manners, and were only different from other 
Frenclnnen because they were fiercer and more warlike. 
4. Edward the Confessor's mother was the daughter 
of one of the dukes of the Normans, and the Edward the 
reigning duke, whose name was William^ was Confessor 
Edward's cousin and bosom friend. The re- mans into " 
suit of this was that Edward was always tak- England, 
ing William's advice. Moreover, ]ie sent for Normans 



40 



The Norman Conquest 



[1066. 




ENGLAND 
1066- 1485. ' 

1460 

Battlefields shown thus:- ii 



U^ 



Walker &. Cockerel! sc. 



1066.] The Norman Conquest 41 

and gave them lands and offices in England. One 
Norman he made Archbishop of Canterbury, and others 
he made earls. Now, in those days the earl was a man 
who acted as governor over a large district of the coun- 
try. To make a Norman an earl was to make him the 
ruler over many Englishmen. 





jTVK:(^KFV5;h/\DWAKDl-.Re6IS:AD:eCCL6SlftM:5CI 




mm 



Portion of the Bayeux Tapestry, showing (A) the Death of Edward 
the Confessor, and (B) his Burial in Westminster Abbey. 

5. Englishmen in those days hated all foreigners, and 
were very angry with Edward for giving the Normans 
the high places that they thought belonged 
to Englishmen by right. The strongest of old drives 
the English nobles at that time was Harold^ ^^y ^^^ 
Earl of the West Saxons. He disliked the 
Normans, and at last forced Edward to drive his Nor- 
man friends into exile. But Edward was too weak 
to govern by himself. Having lost his Norman ad- 
visers, he had to fall back on Harold. Therefore, for the 



42 The Norman Conquest [l066. 

rest of Edward's reign Harold ruled England in the 
king's name. He governed well and successfully, show- 
ing himself to be a brave warrior and a wise statesman. 

6. Early in 1066 Edward the Confessor died, and was 
buried in his new abbey of Westminster. He left no 
children, so that it Avas uncertain who was to be the 
next king. Edward himself had wished to be succeeded 
by his cousin, Duke William. But the English thought 

that this would not do at all. They chose 
comes King Earl Harold as their king, though he was 
2f ^^y , not a member of the royal house of Wessex, 

to which all the earlier kings, save Cnut and 
his sons, had belonged. 

7. Harold soon found it was harder to rule England 
when he was king than it had been when he was an earl. 

In a few months Duke William claimed the 
William throne, saying that his cousin Edward had 
lands in promised that he should be the next king. 

William had gathered together a great army 
from Normandy and all parts of France, and crossed 
over the English Channel. He landed at Pevensey, and 
marched thence to Hastings. 

8. Harold was then busy in the North, where he had 
gone to drive away the King of the Norwegians, who 

had landed in Yorkshire a little while before, 
beasts He had succeeded in beating the Norwegians 

the Nor- in battle and in killing their king, whose 
marches^" name was also Harold. He then hurried 
against the south to fight against William. He took up 

his position on a hill about seven miles north 
of Hastings, at the place where the town of Battle now 
stands. William marched from Hastings to meet liim, 
and, on his reaching the place where Harold was, fought 
with him a great battle. 

9. This is generally called the Battle of Hastings. 
The spot where it fought had as yet no name, and so 



1066. 



The Norman Conquest 



43 



men called the battle from the nearest town. This fight 
near Hastings is perhaps the most important battle in 
all English histoiy, and we are lucky in hav- j,^^ 
ing still preserved in tlie city of Baycux^ in Battle of 
Normandy, a long series of pictures in wool- ^^tings. 
work, called the Bayeujc Tapestry^ which was made near 
the time, and tells us exactly what events led up to the 
battle and how it was fought. We have given several 
pictures from this in our illustrations. They make it 
clear that both the Eng- 
lish and the Normans 
showed wonderful brav- 
ery. But English and 
Norman ways of fight- 
ing were different, the 
difference being in fa- 
vor of the Normans. 
The English fought on 
foot, standing shoulder 
to shoulder, and wield- 
ing spears and axes. 
The Normans fought on 
horseback, and charged 
time after time up the 
hill against the solid 
mass of English warriors 
stationed on its .crest. 
As long as the English 
stood together, the Norman horsemen could do them 
little harm, though their archers slew some of them. 
At last William ordered his men to pretend to run away. 
Thereupon the English broke their ranks, and rushed 
after them. This lost the English the battle. The 
Normans soon turned, and their cavalry could easily ride 
down the English infantry, now that the close forma- 
tion of the English was broken. The result was that 




Route of William shown thus: 



Normandy and Southeast England, 
in 1066. 



The Norman Conquest 




1066.] The Norman Conquest 45 

William won a complete victory. Harold died fighting 
bravely, with the best of his soldiers. After this suc- 
cess William marched to London, and the 
English nobles, despairing of further resist- becomes 
ance, chose him as their king. On Christ- King of the 
mas Day, 1066, William was crowned king "^ ^^ 
in Edward's new Abbey of Westminster. It was a few 
days less than a year after Edward's body had been 
buried there. 

The Chief English Kings before the Norman Conquest. 

Egbert, King of Wessex, 
Grandfather of 

Alfred. 

I 
Edward the Elder, 

Grandfather of 

I 
Edgar. 

I 



Edward the Martyr. Ethelred the Unready, 

m. Emma of Normandy. 

Edward the Confessor. 

Summary. The Normans settle in northern France. Edward 
the Confessor asks many of them over to England and grants 
them favors. Earl Harold drives them out and is chosen King 
of the English after Edward's death. William, Duke of Nor- 
mandy, defeats Harold at Hastings and becomes King of the 
English. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. What body of men 
chose Harold king ? On what kind of ground can cavalry fight 
best ? What invention in modern times has made cavalry less 
important in war ? 

The Norman Conquest : Henty, G. H., Wulf the Saxon. 

Stamford Bridge and Plastings : Lytton, Lord, Harold. 

Saxon Bravery : Kingsley, C, Herewanl the Wake. 

Picture of the Times : Scott, Sir Walter, Tales of a Grandfather. 

Book for Teachers. Freeman, E. A., Short History of the 
Norman Conquest. 



CHAPTER VIII 
The Norman Kings, 1066-1154 

1. The first Norman king of the English \A^as called 
William the Conqueror. He was very fond of having 

his own Avay, and was very stern and cruel 
William the ^^ tliose who opposcd him. But with all his 
Conqueror harshness he was not a bad king. He would 
the English i^ot allow any one to oppress the English 
and the exccpt hiuisclf, and the conquered English 

soon began to look up to him for help against 
the swarm of greedy Norman soldiers who came over 
with him. These men had not come to England simply 
to do their duke's bidding. They expected to be re- 
warded for helping him to gain the throne, and William 
paid them for their services by giving them great grants 
of land which he had taken away from Englishmen 
who had fought against him. Moreover, William did 
not trust the English enough to allow them to help him 
govern the country. There were soon none but Norman 
earls, great landlords, and bishops. The English lost 
most of their lands, and were only allowed to go on 
holding small estates. They were often cruelly treated 
by their new masters. 

2. The Normans kept a firm hold on the lands and 
places which they had won with their swords. They 

covered the land with strong castles, grim 
Norman towers of stone, which it was impossible for 

castles. 1 T-> 1- 1 TTT 

the English to capture. We can still see 
all over the land the ruins of these castles which the 
Normans built to overawe the English. The most 
famous of them is the Toiver of London, 



The Norman Kings 47 

3. William soon found that the Norman barons or 
nobles were not to be trusted. They wanted to have 
as much power as they could for themselves, ^^^^ revolts 
and they were very anxious to prevent of the Nor- 
WilKam from becoming too strong. They "^^^ Karons, 
were always rising in rebellion against him. 

4. The Norman barons were much more cruel to the 
English than the king was, and the English soon dis- 
covered that the king was alwaj^s anxious to 

protect them ag^ainst the barons. The result '^^^ English 

1 1 1 AT 11 support 

was that when the Norman barons revolted, William 
the English helped the king to put down against the 

1 • 1 IT -l^r'^^^ ill i-i bafons. 

then- rebellions. William rewarded the Eng- 
lish for this help by keeping up, as far as he could, their 
old laws. 

5. By these means William made himself a very 
powerful king. This was a good thing for England, 
since in those rouo-h days the only way of „ „,., 

, * T r 1 ^ ' How Wll- 

keepiiig peace and order was for the king to liam became 
be strong enough to make everybody do his ^.strong 
will. But the English had to pay heavily 
for the peace which William gave them. In particular, 
William forced them to pay very high taxes. 

6. William was anxious to raise as many taxes as he 
could. He therefore took great pains to find out how 
much land and property every man possessed. 

With that object, he ordered a book to be day Book.^^" 
drawn up called the Domesdaij Bool', in 
which was set down how much land there was in Eng- 
land, to what people the land belonged, and how much 
they were bound to pay the king. The English 
grumbled a great deal at this. " There w^as not," they 
said, '' a rood of land, nor an ox, or a cow, or a pig 
passed by." But we have more reason to be grateful to 
William than the English of his own day. His Domes- 
day Book tells us more about the state of England eight 



48 The Norman Kings [1O66- 

hundred years ago than we know about any other 
country at that period. 

7. William had three sons, Robert^ William^ and 
Henry. The eldest of these was Robert, and when the 
The sons of ^onqi^eror died, in 1087, Robert became 
William the Duke of Normandy. The Norman nobles 

onqueror. ^^^ wished him to be king over the English. 
Their reason was that they knew that Robert was 
weak and lazy, and that, if he were their king, they 
could do just what they liked. The Conqueror himself 
felt sure that Robert, as king, would undo all his work. 
He therefore said, as he lay dying, that he desired 
William to succeed him. With the help of the English 
this wish was carried out. The Norman nobles tried 
more than once to put Robert on the throne ; but young 
William was too clever to allow them to carry out their 
purpose. 

8. William II. was a hot-tempered, violent man. 
Though greedy, brutal, and fierce, he was very strong 
The reign of ^^^ cunning. He had red hair, and a fair, 
William florid face. He was therefore called Rufus, 

or the Red King. He kept the nobles in 
order, but he ruled very badly. He specially showed 
his cruelty by the way in which he robbed the Church. 
Bishops and priests could not fight as well as barons, so 
William thought it was easier to misuse them. 

9. The Archbishop of Canterbury in William II.'s 
days was named Anselm. He was a very holy man, 
Rufus and ^^^ ^^^ ^^^J famous both for the sanctity 
Archbishop of his life and for the learned and thought- 

^' ful books which he had written. He had 
not wanted to be archbishop, but the post had been 
forced upon him. Before long William began to ill- 
treat him. Though Anselm was a weak old man, he 
was never afraid to stand up for the rights of the 
Church or to tell the truth to the king's face. This 



-1154.] 



The Norman Kings 



49 



made William so angry that he drove Anselm out of 
the kingdom. 

10. The Normans were very fond of hunting. For 
the sake of hunting, William the Conqueror had made 
a great many new forests. We call a forest p , , 
nowadays any large space covered with trees, death in the 
But in Norman times a forest meant a dis- ^^^ Forest, 
trict in which wild beasts were allowed to roam freely, 
so that the king and his nobles might hunt them. 
Among the new forests set up 
by William was one still called 
the Neiv Forest^ in Hampshire, 
and many farmers and villagers 
had been forced to leave their 
homes in order that the king 
might chase deer over their lands. 
One day in 1100 William Rufus 
set out to hunt in the New For- 
est. Next morning his body 
was found there with an arrow 
shot through the heart. The 
poor saw in this sudden murder 
of the wicked king God's judg- 
ment on his sins. 

11. Henry, the youngest son of the Conqueror, was 
now made King Henry I. Once more Robert tried to 
get the throne for himself, and once more he 

failed. After a few years Henry defeated Je^^^^^p °^ 
his brother in battle, and shut him up in 
prison for the rest of his life. The English helped 
Henry against Robert, as they had helped William H. 
earlier. With their aid, Henry kept the Norman nobles 
in order. He was as cruel as the Red King ; but he was 
much more prudent. He took care to rule justly, and 
his subjects called him the Lion of Bigliteousness. Like 
Rufus, Henry had a dispute with Anselm, but they soon 

4 




Part of Hampshire, showing 

the New Forest, and the 
Rufus Stone where William 
II. is supposed to have been 
slain. 



50 The Norman Kings [1066- 

made up their quarrel, and became better friends than 
ever. One very popular thing Henry did was to marry 
a lady named Matilda., daughter of the King of Scot- 
land. Matilda was, through her mother, descended from 
the old line of kings who had reigned in England before 
the Norman Conquest. It was through this marriage 
that the blood of Egbert and Alfred runs in the veins of 
nearly all English kings down to King Edward VII. 

12. Henry I. and Matilda of Scotland had an only son 
and a daughter. The daughter was called Matilda^ like 

her mother. The son was drowned during 
Stepheif" ° l^is father's lifetime. On her brother's death 

the king persuaded the barons to promise to 
recognize his daughter Matilda as queen after his death. 
But it was an unheard-of thing in those days for a 
woman to rule, and the barons broke the oaths they had 
taken to Matilda as soon as Henry I. was dead. Instead 
of her, they chose as their king her cousin Stephen., a 
grandson of William the Conqueror. Stephen was a 
brave soldier, but too much like Robert of Normandy in 
disposition to be a good king. The barons soon found 
that they could do what they liked under such a careless 
and easy-going ruler as Stephen. 

13. After a few years Matilda came to England and 
claimed her father's throne. A long civil war followed. 

Some of the barons fought for Stephen, and 
between others for Matilda ; but most of them cared 
Stephen and for neither. Each baron fought for his own 

interests, and wished to keep up the quarrel 
of Stephen and Matilda as long as possible, in order that 
neither should be able to rule with a strong hand. After 
many years of misery, it was at last agreed that Stephen 
should reign for the rest of his life, but that on his death 
Henry of Anjou, Matilda's son, should be the next king. 
Shortly after this settlement had been made Stephen 
died, in 1154. 



-1154.] The Norman Kings 51 

14. Great as were the miseries that England had suf- 
fered from tlie tyranny of the first three Norman kings, 
it endured far more terrible things during Themiserie 
the weak rule of Stephen. The people died of Stephen's 
of hunger or were tortured to death by rob- ^^^^"• 
bers. It was said that during Stephen's reign Christ 
and His Saints slept. It was now clear that the rule of 
the nobles was much worse than the rule of the Crown, 
and that the strong rule of the Norman kings was the 
greatest blessing that the Conquest had given to England. 

Genealogy of the Xorman Kings. 
William I. 

I I ' \ i 

Robert. William II. Henry I., A daughter. 

m. Matilda, | 

daughter of Stephen. 

Margaret of 

Scotland, 

great-granddaughter 

of Ethelred the 

Unready. 

Summary. William 1. rules harshly, but with some justice 
towards the English, who support him against the barons. He 
makes the Domesday Book. William Rufus rules cruelly and 
drives Anselm from the country. Henry I. rules justly, but after 
him a civil war breaks out between Stephen and Matilda for 
possession of the throne. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. What do we have 
made every ten years that is like the Domesday Book ? Why was 
it necessary for William I. to have the Book made ? What does 
" anarchy " mean? 

William 1. : Tappan, E. M., In the Bays of William the Conqueror. 

Anselm: Hollis, Gertrude, In the Days of St. Anselm. 

Outlaws of Stephen's Reign : Chetwode, R. D., The Knight of 
the Golden Chain. 

Life of the Times: Yonge, C. M., The Little Duke. 

Books for Teachers. Freeman, E. A., William the Conqueror, 
Church, A. J., ,S^^ Anselm; Jewett, S. O., Story of the Normans. 



CHAPTER IX 
Norman England, 1066-1154 

1. Writers of histories used to think that very few 
changes took place in English life and institutions when 
Chang-es by ^^^ Normans conquered England, but of late 
the Nor- years the historians have come more and 
™^"^' more to believe that the changes were so 
many and so abrupt that we can almost think of a red 
line dividinof the institutions of the Saxons from those 
which were established after the Norman Conquest. 

2. William I. had himself chosen king by the Witan, 
but this was only a matter of form, for he was king by 

right of conquest. The fact that the Nor- 
mans had conquered England made the Nor- 
man much stronger than the Saxon kings. Instead of 
asking the consent of the Witan to the making of laws 
and the imposing of taxes, the Norman kings frequently 
made the laws and levied the taxes without consulting 
the Witan at all. Thus the power of the Norman 
kings was almost absolute, and they did much as they 
liked. 

3. After the Conquest the Great Council took the 
place of the Witan, but had not nearly so much power. 

It consisted of the great churchmen and 
Council^ nobles, who held large tracts of land as ten- 
ants of the king, and met about three times 
a year. When a king died the council chose the new 
king, but he was scarcely ever any one but the dead 
king's eldest son. 



Norman England 53 

4. As the population of England increased there was 
more business for the king than he could attend to 
alone. So he had a secretary (cliancellor) , a 
treasurer, and a judge with him all the time ^uncn^^^ 
to help him with his letters, take charge of 

his money and aid him in giving justice. These three 
officers Avith some others were called the king's privy or 
private council. This council corresponded in a way to 
the Cabinet of the President of the United States. It 
still exists in England, but has many more members than 
it had in Norman times. 

5. The highest court of justice was now no longer 
the Witan (or Great Council), but the Privy Council 
of the king. This body followed the king 

from place to place in order to hear appeals 
from the lower courts which remained much the same as 
before the Conquest. The same methods of proving a 
man's guilt or innocence continued in use, but the Nor- 
mans added a new method called the Wager of Battle, 
By this method the accuser and the accused, or their 
champions, fought each other — it being thought at the 
time that God would have the right man win. 

6. The Church organization did not change with the 
Conquest, but the Norman kings made the Church offices 
more subordinate to the office of king than 

under the Saxons. William I., however, did church 
permit the clergy to try their own members 
for wrong-doing. This privilege caused a great deal of 
trouble later. In Europe there had been a great deal 
of trouble between Pope Gregory VII. and Emperor 
Henry IV. as to whether the popes or the kings should 
invest a bishop with his office. In England Henry I. 
settled the difficulty in such a way as to give both pope 
and king a share in the ceremony. 

7. The same classes existed under the Normans as 
under the Saxons, but we know from Domesday Book 



54 Norman England 

that many Saxon nobles were deprived of their lands 
and many Saxon freemen reduced to serfs, or villeivs 
as the Normans called them. On the 
Classes of other hand by the influence of the Church 
^' the condition of the slaves was much im- 

proved and manv were freed. 




Porchester Church, Hanipshh-e, built about 1135. 

(Showing Norman style of architecture.) 



8. Even in Saxon times the king had not been en- 
tirely strong enough to hold all liis people, especially 
the great lords, in subjection and obedience 
to him. There had begun to grow up a sys- 
tem by which this might be done, and when 
the Normans came over - they brought a system very 



The feudal 
system. 



Norman England 55 

much like the one growing up in Enghind, only it was 
more perfect. This is know^n as the feudal system. 

It is very difficult to understand, but if you will try 
to remember a few things about it, that will be enough. 
In the first place all land was supposed to belong to the 
king. He let it out to certain men, usually important 
nobles. These in turn might let out to lesser nobles 
certain portions of the land given to them. In this way 
every part of the land was held directly or indirectly 
from the king. The man wlio gave out the land was 
called the lord and he who received it was called the 
vassal. Thus one man might be a vassal to the king 
and yet a lord to another man. Instead of paying rent 
or taxes the vassal did service for his lord, and made him 
gifts called aids. The service was usually to serve the 
lord in war and the aids were (1) to ransom his lord if 
the latter was captured, (2) to pay the expenses of 
knighting the lord's eldest son, and (3) to contribute to 
the marriage expenses of the lord's eldest daughter. If 
the vassal died the vassal's son could only get his land 
by paying the lord a sum called a relief. For all this 
the lord had to give his vassal protection. There were 
many other services and dues of one kind or another, 
but these were the most important. Every man except 
the king had a lord above him and every lord had usu- 
ally many vassals. William the Conqueror was so afraid 
that his nobles would become stronger than he that he 
would not give them great tracts of land all in one 
locality, but gave them a small piece in one part of Eng- 
land and a small piece in another part. Then he made 
all men, even men who were not his vassals, but vassals 
of the men to whom he had given out land, take an 
oath of allegiance direct to him. He hoped by this to 
make every man feel that he owed obedience to the 
king first of all. Now all this may seem very simple 
to you, but what is put down here is only the ideal 



56 Norman England 

system. In actual working it was very much more 
complicated. 

9. Above we spoke about " knighting " the lord's eld- 
est son. This was the most important part of an insti- 
tution called cJiivalry. Every boy of noble 
birth went through a long training to be- 
come a knight. When he was seven he was made a 
page about the court of his father's lord and learned 
polite manners from the ladies, and manly behavior 
from the lords. When he reached the age of fourteen 
he became a squire and attended the lord upon the field 
of battle. At the age of twenty-one he was made a 
knight after going through much gorgeous ceremony. 
He then received his sword and armor and went into 
battle like the man that he was. 

The favorite sport for the knights was a mock battle 
called a tournament. This was held in a great enclosed 
field called the lists. The battle was sometimes between 
two single knights, or between many knights, an equal 
number being on each side. Instead of using swords 
and trying to kill each other they used long wooden 
lances and tried to unhorse their opponents. He who 
unhorsed his opponent or broke the most lances in try- 
ing to do so was declared the winner. 

Chivalry and the tournament kept before men in these 
very rough times a standard of manly conduct and 
honor, and a high regard for women. 

10. The Normans did not have a dislike for towns 
and as they built much in stone the towns grew rapidly 
^ in size and wealth. So wealthy did some of 

Towns. , 1 1 1 1 1 . <. 1 

them grow that they bought their freedom 
from the control of the king's or lord's officers by pay- 
ing a certain sum down. The king or the lord then gave 
them charters guaranteeing them certain rights. In pur- 
chasing these charters the towns were much aided by the 
merchant-gilds which had grown wealthy and in many 



Norman England 



57 

cases controlled the government of the towns. After the 
Conquest a new form of gild called the erafUgilds grew 
up. 



These were somewhat similar to our modern trade- 






Waste 



Waste. 



Common pasture 



\9 2 



Common Fields with tenants' strips 




■ r^^ 9 q ^ 



Plan of Manor. 

(Reproduced from Gibbins' " Industrial History of England," by permission of 
Messrs. Methuen & Co.) 



uniorts. They Avere organizations of the artisans of a 
town such as weavers, shoemakers, and so forth, made 
for mutual benefit. They regulated the kind of work 
done and made rules for the training and entrance of 



58 Norman England 

new members. In time the craft-gilds became very 
powerful. 

11. To a township or Tillage which remained under 
the control of a lord the Normans gave the name manor. 
The manor was a little w^orld in itself. On 
it lived all classes of people from the lord to 
the slave. On it were grown all the necessaries of life 
and in the village were to be found the workmen who 
made clothing to wear and implements to work with. 
The lord lived in his manor-house. Some slaves were 
in his service. Villeins of the lord tilled the soil or 
were employed as artisans. Some few freemen might be 
tenants on certain portions of land. 

Summary. The power of the king increases. The Grand 
Council takes the place of the Witan, but has less power. The 
Privy Council takes over some of the duties of the king. The 
wager of battle is introduced. The dispute with the pope about 
the office of bishop is settled. Some Saxon nobles lose their lands 
and some Saxon freemen are made villeins. The feudal system 
and chivalry are introduced. The towns grow wealthy and the 
craft-gilds are organized. The Anglo-Saxon township or vill be- 
comes the manor. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Was the wager of 
battle worse than the ordeal or compurgation ? What is a trade- 
union? What is a charter? Have you ever heard of charters in 
American history? Were there ever any slaves in the United 
States ? 

Chivalry: (See books by Church and Bulfinch in Chap. II.) 

Tournament: Scott, Sir W., Ivanhoe. 

Books for Teachers. (See Preface under Feilden and 
Cheyney.) 



Part III. — The Angevin Kings. 1154-1399 

CHAPTER X 

Henry II., 1154-1189 

1. Henry 11.^ the son of Matilda, was the first king 
since Edward the Confessor who was descended from 
the honse of Egbert and Alfred. It was h^^ ^^e 
through his grandmother, 3Iatilda of Scot- House of 
layidf the wife of Henry I., that he traced "-"^^ ^g^r\. 
this descent. He was often called Henry of Ayijou^ 
because his father, Geoffrey^ was Count of Anjou, a 
district in France to the south of Normandy. For 
this reason Henry II. and his successors are often called 
the House of Anjou. They were also called the House of 
Plant aye net because in tiieir coat of arms they had a 
broom-plant, — the Norman-French word for this being 
plante-genet. 

Table showing Descent of Henry II. from the Norman 
AND English Royal Houses. 

Ethelred the Unready, 

great-graudfather of 

Margaret, Queen of Scots. "William I. 



I I 

Matilda, m. Henry I. 

I 
Matilda 

I 
Henry II. 



6o 



Henry II. 



1154- 




Dominions of Henry //. 

Dominions ruled ty vassals 

Domln f and Dependen i 
of the Kin^ ^France 



t, COCKCRELL.DEL 



The Empire of Henry II. 



-1189.] Henry II. 6i 

2. Henry II. was already Duke of Normandy and 
Count of Anjou when he became King of England. He 
„ jj , had also won a very great territory in 
great southern and western France called Aqui- 

dominions. taine through his marriage with Eleanor of 
Aqidtaine, the rich heiress of those regions. Thus Henry 
ruled over more French land than the King of France 
himself. Moreover, he subdued the Scots and the Welsh. 
He also conquered part of Ireland, and was the first 
English king to be called Lord of Ireland. But his 
power was not very great in any of these regions, and 
in Ireland he had little real authority. It was not until 
the days of the Tudor kings that England thoroughly 
conquered Ireland. 

8. All these possessions, however, made Henry II. a 
very powerful king. He ruled over all these territories 

very wisely and vigorously. He was hot- 
Henrv^il^ °^ tempered, violent, and sometimes ratlier 

cruel. But he knew how to make himself 
obeyed. He put an end to the disorderly state of things 
that had prevailed in England under King Stephen. 
He pulled down the castles that the barons had built in 
Stephen's days without asking for the king's permission. 
Under him England was again peaceful and well gov- 
erned, as it had been in the days of his grandfather, 
Henry I. 

4. Henry II. was very fond of making changes in the 
government of the country. The most famous of these 

changes was a system of trying prisoners, 
m:vv^aws ^ whicli he borrowed from his grandfather, 

and set up on such a firm basis that it has 
lasted ever since. He sent his judges over all the country 

from time to time, and so established the 
trfaTby^'unf system of Assizes, or circuit courts, which 

have continued down to the present time. 
Henry also used the system of trial by jury so often that 



62 Henry II. [ll54- 

it became henceforth the regular way of trying criminals. 
When the king's judge went round to hold the assizes, 
or law courts, in each county, he was helped in trying- 
prisoners by a body of men belonging to the neighbor- 
hood who swore that they would tell the truth as they 
knew it. They were called a jury, from the Latin word 
jurati^ which means sworn men. 

5. During Henry II. 's long reign the English and 
Normans gradually became one people. For a long 

time after the Conquest there was a clear 
Nof mans" li^^G o^ division between the Norman rulers 
become one and the English people that they ruled. 
^^ ^ * So many Normans had now married English 

ladies that most of the nobles liad English as well as 
Norman ancestors. Many new families rose into power 
that were wholly English by descent. The upper classes 
still used more French than English, as had been the 
case ever since the days of William the Conqueror. 
Even when they spoke the French tongue, however, they 
were thoroughly English in feeling. They were very 
glad to hght the French kings, and the English kings 
now gave them plenty of chances of doing that. 

6. Henry II. had a famous dispute with one of his 
Archbishops of Canterbury, whose name was Thomas 

Beeket. In the early part of his reign 
Becket. Thomas had been the king's chief minister, 

and had worked very zealously in the king's 
service. When the Archbishop of Canterbury died, the 
king thought it would be a fine thing to make his faith- 
ful minister archbishop. He believed that as archbishop 
Becket would take care to bring the Church over to the 
king's side. In those days the Church was very power- 
ful, and even kings were afraid to quarrel with it. 

7. Becket was made archbishop. He took a very 
serious view of his office, and tried to follow in the 
footsteps of Anselm. He was very eager to uphold 



-1189.] Henry II. e>7, 

all the riglits and liberties of the Church, and had not 
long been archbishop when he had a fierce quarrel with 
the kino-. The chief cause of the dispute ^ , , 

^1 ^- T. 1 111 Quarrel of 

was the question how clergymen who had Henry li. 

committed offences were to be tried. Henry ^^^ Thomas. 

wished to have them brought before tlie king's courts 

like anybody else. Becket said that the clergy ought 

only to be tried in tlie courts of the Church, because it 

was profane to bring such holy men before the judges of 

the king. The result was that the old friends became 

very bitter enemies. Before long Henry drove Thomas out 

of the kingdom, and lie remained in exile for six years. 

8. At last, in 1170, Henry and Thomas patched up 
their quarrel, and Thomas went back to Canterbury. 
But Thomas was very restless and meddle- ^, 

T , /» 1 T The quarrel 

some, and soon began to start iresh disputes, is patched up 
This made the kinaf very anofry. He burst ^"^ breaks 

^ o ./ out again. 

into a mad rage, and said all sorts of severe 
things about tlie arclibishop. " Will not one of my 
cowardly servants," he cried, " rid me of this turbulent 
priest? " 

9. Four of Henry's followers took the king at his 
word. 1'hey went sti'aight to Canterbury, thinking that 
they would please the king by murdering the jvim-der of 
archbishop. Thomas took refuge from them Thomas at 
in his cathedral. The murderers thundered Canterbury, 
at the door. " Unbolt that door ! " said Thomas to his 
clergy. " I will not have God's house made a fortress 
for me." Then the four rushed into the church, crying, 
" Where is the traitor ? " " Here I am," answered 
Thomas ; " no traitor, but archbishop and priest of God." 
Then they fell upon him with their swords, and cruelly 
put him to death. When the foul deed was done, they 
cried, " Let us go now. He will never rise again." 

10. All Europe was horrified at the murder of Becket 
in his own church. Tales were quickl}^ spread of the 



64 Henry II. [ll54- 

holiness of his life and the bravery of his death. Men 
forgot that Becket was no gentle saint like Anselm, but 

always quarrelsome and violent, and that 
madTa sa?nt. ^^^ fought not SO much for justice and truth 

as for the rights of the Church. His noble 
death had given a touch of nobility to his whole life. 
He was now called St. Thomas of Canterbury^ the martyr 




Canterbury Cathedral. View of part of east of High Altar where 
Becket's Shrine was placed. 

(The tombs under canopies are those of Henry IV. aiid the Black Prince.) 



for the liberties of Holy Church. His shriyie^ or tomb, 
at Canterbury Cathedral became the most famous place 
of pilgrimage in England. Thousands of men flocked 
as pilgrims from all parts of Europe to pray at the 
martyr's burial-place. 

11. Henry was horrified at what the knights had 
done. They had thought to serve him, but they had 



-1189.] Henry II. 65 

made him hateful to all Christendom. Nothing pros- 
pered with him. His subjects looked upon him with 
fear. His nobles rose in revolt against him. Henry 
saw that he must make it clear that he was sorry for his 
rash words, and had not wished to take the archbishop's 
life. He went himself as a pilgrim to Can- 
terbury. He knelt humbly before the tomb trouSfes and 
of his old enemy, and was flogged with rods pilgrimage ^ 
as his punishment. The Pope tlien declared tomb.°"^^^ ^ 
that the king's repentance had atoned for 
his sin. But the worst result of Becket's murder was 
that Henry was obliged to allow the law to remain as 
Becket had wished it. Until the Reformation any cler- 
gyman who committed a crime was tried in the courts 
of the Churcli, and not in the courts of the king. 

12. Henry's last years were full of disasters. His 
sons were disobedient and faithless. More than once 
they rose in revolt against their father, though ^^^^ jj, 
he had always been foolishly kind to them, last years 
They joined with his great enemy the lying ^"^^ ^^^t^- 
of France, and gave the old king all the trouble they 
could. In the midst of one of these revolts Henry II. 
died, overwhelmed with misfortunes, in 1189. 

Table showing the Descendants of Henry II. down to 
Edward III. 

Henry II., m. Eleanor of Aqnitaine. 

I . 

i I 

Richard I. John. 

I 
Henry III. 

I 
Edward I. 

I 
Edward II., 

m. Isabella of France. 

I 
Edward III. 

5 



GG Henry II. 

Summary. Henry II., a powerful king, introduces better 
methods for trying criminals. English and Normans become one 
people. Quarrel between Henry and Thomas Kecket ends in the 
murder of Thomas. Henry's last years disturbed by revolt of his 
sons. 

Topics and Supplementary Readmg. Is jury trial better 
than trial by compurgation, ordeal, or wager of battle? Have we 
circuit courts in the United States ? What is a pilgrimage ? 

Outlaws : Gilliat, E., Forest Outlaws^ or St. Hugh and the King. 

Wars on the Welsh Border: Scott, Sir W., The Betrothed. 

Books for Teachers, (jreen, Mrs. J. H., Henry 11. ; Stubbs, 
W., Early Plantagenets ; Hutton, W. IL, St. Thomas, Archbishop of 
Canterbury. 



CHAPTER XI 
The Sons of Henry II., 1189-1216 

1. The eldest living son of Henry, Richard, now 
became King Richard I. He was very fond of fighting, 
and more anxious to win glory for himself 

than to govern his kingdom well. He was l^o^ Heart. 
English king for more than ten years, but 
he lived almost entirely in his French dominions. 
Only twice did he visit England, and on each occasion 
for a very short time. As soon as he had collected 
enough money to enable him to carry out his plans 
of fighting, he hurried away again. Yet Englishmen 
honored him for his deeds of daring, and called him 
Richard Lion Heart. However, not one of all the Eng- 
lish kings Avas so little of an Englishman, or cared so 
little for the country as King Richard. 

2. Soon after he became king, Richard went on what 
was called a Crusade. A Crusade was a holy war against 
the Mohammedans, and w^as so called because 

those who took part in it wore a cross sewn cmsades 
on to their clothes to show that they were 
engaged in a holy work. The first of these crusades 
had begun in the days of William Rufus, and the cru- 
sade that Richard took part in was called the Third 
Crusade. It was the fashion in those da3^s for men to 
go on pilgrimages^ or holy journeys to the tombs of 
great saints and holy men. We have seen how in 
England a great many people went on pilgrimage to the 
tomb of St. Thomas of Canterbury. But no pilgrimage 
was so meritorious as that to the Holy Sepulchre at 



68 



The Sons of Henry II. 



[1189- 



Jerusalem. However, Jerusalem was in the hands of 
the Turks, who liated the Christian faith and robbed and 
murdered the Christian pilgrims. The Crusades were 
started to drive the Turks out of Jerusalem, and to set 






M^ 




Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. 

up a Christian kingdom in the holy places where Jesus 
Christ had lived His earthly life. 

3. The First Crusade had expelled the Turks from 
The Third Jerusalem, and had set up a Christian king- 
Crusade, (^[qj^-^ there. But after nearly a hundred years 
there arose a very gallant and noble Turkish Sultan, 
called Saladin^ who drove the Christians out of Jerusa- 



-1216.] The Sons of Henry II. 69 

lem again. The Tliircl Crusade was undertaken in order 
to restore Christian rule in the Holy City. 

4. Richard fought well against Saladin, and won 
many battles against him. But he did not manage to 
conquer Jerusalem, though he came within 
sight of its walls. Thereupon he turned his taken pris- 
face away, saying that if he were not able to °"^^ ^" 
conquer it he was not worthy to look at it. 
However, he made a truce with Saladin, by which the 
Christians were allowed to go on pilgrimage to the Holy 
Sepulchre. Then he started home. On his way he was 
taken prisoner by the Duke of Austria, a German noble- 
man with whom he had quarrelled in the Holy Land. 
He was left in prison until the English paid an enor- 
mous sum of money to the Germans by way of ran- 
soming their captive king. It was only in 1194 that 
Richard got back to England. 

• 5. As soon as he had raised a large treasure, Richard 
left England again. He spent the rest of his life 
fighting the King of France, who had tried Richard's 
to rob him of his French lands while he was last years 
a prisoner in Germany. After five years, he ^^ ^^*^' 
was shot dead from the wall of a castle which he was 
besieging. 

6. Richard left no children, and his younger brother, 
John, became king in his stead. John was the very 
wickedest and worst of all English kings. 

Cruel, greedy, self-willed, and violent, he 

failed in everything that he tried to do. He ruled so 

badly that he turned most of his subjects against him. 

7. Before John had been king for four years the 
nobles of his French territories rose in revolt, and called 
upon the French king to come to their help, r^^^ j^^^ ^^ 
The French king did this very willingly. Normandy 
He declared that John had forfeited all his ^"^ ^"J°"' 
lands in France, and took possession of Normandy and 



70 The Sons of Henry II. [ll89- 

Anjou. All that was left to John of Henry II.'s great 
French possessions was a part of the inheritance of his 
mother, Eleanor of Aqnitaine. This district, which was 
called Gascony^ had Bordeaux as its chief town, and re- 
mained the property of the English kings for two hun- 
dred and fifty years longer. 

8. In John's days there lived one of the most famous 
of all the Popes or Bishops of Rome. The name of this 

Pope was Innocent HI. Now, John and 
John and Innoccnt could not agree as to who should 
f°P^ ,,, be Archbishop of Canterbury. The king 

Innocent III. ^ ^ . ^^ 

wanted to appoint a very unnt man to the 
post; but the Pope would not allow this, and wished to 
give the archbishopric to Stepheyi Langton^ the wisest 
and most learned Englishman of his day. John objected, 
and a fierce quarrel followed, which lasted several years. 
In the course of it Innocent put England under what 
was called an Interdict. That means that he stopped all 
public services in church, until John gave way. But 
though the pious English were very unhappy at all 
divine worship being cut off, the godless John only 
laughed at the Pope's threats. 

9. Innocent was determined not to be beaten. At 
last he declared that John had no right to reign any 

longer, and called upon the King of France 
becomes to invade England and drive John away from 
the Pope's ^ig kingdom. This threat brought John to 

his knees. He suddenly submitted to the 
Pope. He agreed to accept Langton as archbishop. 
But he did more than that. He took his crown off his 
head and handed it over to Pandulf^ the Pope's repre- 
sentative. He promised that henceforth he would regard 
the Pope as his overlord, and pay him a sum of money 
every year by wa}" of tribute. It was the most disgrace- 
ful surrender that any king of England ever made. John, 
however, cared little for the shame of it, if he could get 



-1216.] The Sons of Henry II. 71 

out of his immediate difficulty. He thought it Avould be 
a great advantage to him to have the Pope henceforward 
on his side. 

10. During all these yeai'S John had been reigning 
very badly. The barons had long hated liim, and now 
the poorer people began to fall away from 
him and to put themselves on the side of the '^^^ barons 

1 * 1 1 • 1 T i ■ 1 oppose John. 

barons. Archbisiiop Langton wi-sely strove 

to bring together all the different classes of Englishmen 

against the cruel king. The barons went to war against 




Runnymede 



•John, and very few cared to fight for the tyrant. In 
1215 John found that he could resist no longer. He 
met the barons near Staines, on a meadow by the banks 
of the river Thames, called Runnymede. There he was 
forced to agree to the terms which the barons had drawn 
up. 

11. The demands of the barons were contained in a 
document called, in Latin, Magna Carta, ; that is, in 
English, the Great Charter. Till now the 
Norman kings had ruled as they chose, like ca^fa.^ 
despots. John was now forced to have re- 
gard to the rights of church, barons, and people. He 
was not to raise fresh taxes without tlie consent of the 
barons, and he was not to put any one into prison save 
according to the law of the land. Thus the Great 
Charter contains the beginnings of English liberty and 



72 The Sons of Henry II. [12I6. 

of the English constitution. It took a very long while 
before all its articles were really carried out, but it Avas 
something to have made a beginning. 

12. John soon broke his word, threw over the Charter, 

hired foreign soldiers to fight for him, and went to war 

against the barons. He pressed them so 

throwsThe hard that they were forced to call on Louis 

Charter. gf France, the eldest son of the French king. 

His death. / ' ^ 1 i xi -n •?^ 

to come over to help tliem. Even with 
French help, they found it hard to overcome John. 
Luckily, next year, in 1216, John suddenly died. 

Summary. Richard Lion Heart and the Crusades. John loses 
Normandy and Anjou. Quarrel between John and Pope Innocent 
III. leads John to become the vassal of the popes. Barons oppose 
John and gain the Magna Carta. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Why is the Magna 
Carta so important? Do you think Richard attended to the 
business of the kingdom well? Do you think that the loss of 
Normandy was a good or a bad thing for England? 

Richard I. : Scott, Sir W., Ivanhoe. 

Third Crusade : Henty, G. A., Winning His Spurs ; Scott, Sir 
W., The Talisman. 

The Magna Carta: Edgar, J. G., Runnymede and Lincoln Fair. 

Loss of Normandy : Gilliat, E., Wolfs Head. 

John's Time: Yonge, C. M., Constable of the Tower. 

Books for Teachers, Stubbs, W., Early Plantagenets ; Archer, 
T. A., Crusade of Richard I. 




Silver Penny of John's Reign. 



CHAPTER XII 
Henry III., 1216-1272 

1. On John's death his eldest son became Henry III. 
The new kuig was a boy, only nine years old. The 
barons who had called in Louis of France ^ . . r 

Defeat of 

refused to recognize Henry as their king, and Louis of 
the civil war went on for two years longer. F^^^^^- 
Louis' friends gradually fell away from him, and Henry's 
side became stronger and stronger. It was felt by many 
that it was a bad thing to be ruled by the man who on 
his father's death would become king of F" ranee also. 
The little king was quite innocent of his father's mis- 
deeds. His friends now showed that they did not intend 
to allow him to govern in the way that King John had 
ruled. They issued Magna Carta once more as a free- 
will grant of Henry III. This took away the only good 
reason for opposing Henry. Louis' cause now rapidly 
began to lose ground. In 1217 he was forced to leave 
England, and Henry III. became undisputed king. 

2. The two chief supporters of Henry in his struggle 
against Louis were Stephen Langton^ the Archbishop of 
Canterbury, and William Marshall^ Earl of The rule of 
Pembroke. After the Frenchman had gone Stephen 
home, these two wise men restored England wiiiiam 

to peace and prosperity. Though Pembroke Marshall. 
was an old man, who died in 1219, the work wliich he 
had begun was carried on after his death. Gradually 
the horrors of the civil war were forgotten. John's 
foreign soldiers were driven out of England, and Eng- 
lishmen again became the rulers of their own country. 



74 Henry III. [1216- 

3. Unluckily, new troubles arose when Henry III. 
became old enough to govern. He was a much better 

man than most of the kings who had gone 
Heriry^lii.° before him. He was pious, gentle, and good- 
natured. He was faithful to his friends 
and devoted to his wife and children. He was well 
educated, and loved to build beautiful churches and 
to adorn them with fine statues and decorations. The 
most famous churcli that he built was the Westminster 
Abbey which now exists. Henry pulled down Edward 
the Confessor's church, and set up a far finer and richer 
one in its place. He did this because he specially 
honored Edward the Confessor. Another way he had 
of showing respect to this king was to call his eldest 
son Edward. Perhaps one reason why Henry loved 
Edward the Confessor so much was that he was not 
unlike him in character. Like the Confessor, Henry 
was too weak and too fond of foreigners to be a good 
king. He gave many rich estates and high offices to 
his wife's kinsfolk, w^ho came from the south of France, 
and were very numerous and greedy. Every clever 
young Frenchman was sure to receive a warm welcome 
from Henry if he went to England. It soon became quite 
the fashion for young French nobles to make their way 
to England, in order to push their fortunes there. One 
of these was Simon of Mont/ort. He married the king's 
sister, and w^as recognized by Henry as Earl of Leicester. 

4. Neither Henry nor his foreign friends knew how 
to rule England. The promise which the king had 

made, that he would govern according to 
weak^uie ^^^^ Great Charter, was not kept. The king 

was always collecting heavy taxes. But he 
wasted the money on his favorites, and did not keep 
good order. The barons at last grew very angry. They 
resolved that they would force Henry to take their 
advice, and rule the country better. 



-1272.] Henry III. 75 

5. Since the Great Charter, the barons had much 
more power than they had had before. The king was 
no longer a despot, but was bound to ask t,, , . 

^ r \ ^ ^^^ begin- 

the consent of a body called parliament nings of 
before he raised fresh taxes or passed new P^^^i^^™^"*. 
laws. The parliament of those days was not like the 
present parliament, composed of representatives of the 
whole people. It consisted only of the earls, barons, 
bishops, and other leading nobles and clergymen. But 
it was becoming a real check on the king, and especially 
on a weak king like Henry III. 

6. At first the parliament of barons was unable to do 
much against the king. It lacked a good leader, and it 
was a long time before one was found. At 

last an excellent leader appeared in the per- The Pro- 
son of tlie king's brother-in-law, Simon of oxford.° 
Montfort. Montfort had now become quite 
a good Englishman. He liad at first supported the 
king, like the other foreigners. But he was so much 
wiser than Henry that he soon grew disgusted with his 
brother-in-law's careless ways. He quarrelled violently 
with him, and headed the barons opposed to the king. 
In 1258 the parliament met at Oxford, and drew up, 
under Simon's guidance, some new laws, called the Pro- 
visions of Oxford. By these the foreigners were driven 
out of the country, and the government of England 
handed over from the king to the barons. 

7. The new system Avorked pretty Avell for a few 
years. However, Henry hated it, and so did his son 
Edward, who was now a grown man, and 

much wiser and more determined than his the barons 
foolish father. The king and his son could renew their 
have done little if the barons had agreed 
among themselves. This, however, Avas not long the 
case. Earl Simon thought that the barons AA^ere ruling 
selfislily in their oavu interests. He Avished to do more 



76 



Henry III. 



[1216- 



Battle of 
Lewes. 



for the common people. The 
result was a quarrel between 
Simon and his friends. This 
gave Henry and Edward their 
chance. They took up arms 
against the barons. The civil 
war that followed is called the 
Barons' War. 

8. When it came to fighting, 
the barons once more had to 

unite. Simon of 

Montfort now took 

the lead over all. 
In 1264 he won a great victory 
over the royalists at Lewes, in 
Sussex, where Henry and Ed- 
ward were both taken prisoners. 

9. Simon was now the real 
ruler of England. Early in 

Earl Simon's ^-^^ ^^^ called to- 
Parliament gethcr a parliament 
°^"^5- to help him. Up 

to this time most parliaments 
had, as we have seen, been 
gatherings of nobles only. But 
Montfort's Parliament of 1265 
was a great deal more than 
this. He summoned every 
county to elect two represen- 
tatives of the free landholders 
to speak on its behalf. He 
also requested every toAvn to 
choose in the same way two of 
its burgesses to sit as its representatives. This was not 
quite the first time that representatives of the counties had 
been summoned to parliament, though it was the most 




A Knight. 

(To show Armor worn about 
1250 to 1300. ) 



-1272] 



Henry III. 



77 




Tomb of Henry III. at Westminster Abbey. 



78 Henry III. [1216- 

famous occasion on which they had been called. It 
was, however, the first time that the towns had been 
asked to send members to parliament. It is clear that 
Montfort asked them to come because he believed that 
every class of the people ought to have their say in the 
government of the country. Thus we owe it to Mont- 
fort that parliament became, not merely a gathering of 
nobles, but an assembly of representatives of every class 
of Englishmen. 

10. Simon's power lasted less than a year. Wise and 
great as he was, he was very overbearing and quarrel- 
some. Some of the nobles hated him be- 

The battle of ^a^^ge he trusted the people, and others 

Evesham. ^ ^ . 

because they believed he was very ambitious 
and greedy of power for himself. They began to quar- 
rel with him once more. Henry was now old and worn 
out, and his wishes counted for little, even on his own 
side. Edward was the real leader of the royalists. 
He escaped from prison, joined Montfort's enemies, and 
went to war agaiust him. In 1265 he defeated and slew 
Simon, at the battle of Evesham^ in Worcestershire. 

11. Edward then restored his father to his throne. 
After this, things remained quiet for the rest of the old 
The restora- king's reign. After a year or two, Edward 
tion and death fouiid that the land was so peaceful that 
o enry . j^^ went Oil a crusadc. He fought bravely 
against the Turks, but could not do much against them. 
He was still away in the East when Henry III. died, 
in 1272. 

Summary. Henry III., nine years old, becomes king. He 
wastes money on foreign favorites and gets into trouble with the 
barons. Simon of JNIontfort calls the Parliament of 1265 after 
defeating the king at l^ewes. Simon is killed at Evesham, Henry 
dies, and Edward, his son, succeeds to the throne. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. For what body under 
the Norman kings is parliament another name? Can you think 



-1272.] Henry III. 79 

of any other reason than the one given in the book why Montfort 
asked the representatives of the people to come to parliament? 
Who was Edward the Confessor? Find in a dictionary what the 
word " burgess " means. 

Henry HI. : Yonge, C. M., The Prince and the Page. 

The Barons' War: Green, E. E., A Clerk at Oxford; Edgar, J. 
G., How I Won My Spurs. 

Chivalry: Pickering, E., A Stout English Bowman. 

Days of Henry HI. : Foster, A. J., and Cuthell, E. C, The 
Robber Baron of Bedford Castle. 

Books for Teachers. Creighton, ]\I., Simon de Montfort; 
Hutton, W. H., Misrule of Henry III. and Simon de Montfort. 



CHAPTER XIII 
Edward I., 1272-1307 

1 . Though it was nearly two years before Udward I. 
set foot in his kingdom, everything went on peaceably 

during his absence. The new king had well 
ofEdward I. learned the lessons of his youth, and ruled 

after a very different fashion from Henry III. 
He had also taken to heart the lessons of Earl Simon's 
life. Like Simon, he wished to have the people on his 
side, and to teach them to trust him. He was fond of 
power, but he saw that he would really get more of his 
own wa}^ if he took the people into some sort of part- 
nership with him. He was brave, energetic, straight- 
forward, and lionorable. He boasted that he always 
kept liis word, but sometimes he was content to keep 
the letter rather than the spirit of his promise. More- 
over, he had so hot a temper that it sometimes made him 
hard and cruel. He was, however, one of the best of the 
kings, and few rulers have done more good to England. 

2. One of the chief events of this reign was the con- 
quest of the Prineipalitij of Wales. Wales, the old 
^, refuge of the Britons, had been constantly 
quest of becoming smaller and smaller as time went 
Wales. Qj-^^ ]^^^ ^YiQ greater part of it was still ruled 
by a prince of its OAvn. Lleivelyn^ Prince of Wales, 
refused to take the oath to obey Edward, which earlier 
Welsh princes had always taken to tlie English king. 
Edward endured this patiently for some years. At last, 
however, he conquered all Llewelyn's dominions, and 
added them to his own. Llewelyn was killed in battle 



Edward I. 



8i 



in 1282, and there were no more native princes of Wales. 
A few years afterwards, however, Edward made his eld- 
est son, Edward^ Prince of Wales. This Edward had 
been born at Carnarvon, where his father had bnilt a 
strong castle to keep the Welsh in check. In later times 
it gradually became the fashion for the king's eldest son 
to be called Prince of Wales. That custom has lasted 
down to our own day. 




Carnarvon Castle. 

(Built by Edward I.) 



3. The conquest of Wales left Scotland the only part 
of Britain that was not ruled by the English king. 
Scotland was a much larger country than 
Wales, and was governed, not by a prince, make^^john 
but by a king. Though some of the kings Baiiiol King 
of Scotland had recognized the English 
kings as their overlords, the Scottisli kings were much 
freer and stronger than the Welsh princes. A few 

6 



82 Edward I. [l272- 

years after the conquest of Wales, Edward had a good 
chance of making his power felt in Scotland. There was 
a dispute between the Scots as to the choice of their 
next king. Some were in favor of John Balliol, others 
were for Robert Bruce, and others supported other can- 
didates. At last the Scots thought their best course was 
to ask Edward to decide for them which of the claimants 
had the best right. Edward agreed to undertake this 
task, but before he set to work he asked all the candi- 
dates to admit that he was overlord of Scotland. All of 
them agreed to this, and promised to obey Edward as over- 
lord. Then Edward heard all that they had to say. At 
last he declared that John Balliol had the best title to be 
king. Balliol then took an oath to obey Edward, and 
was crowned King of Scots, 

4. Disputes soon arose between Edward and Balliol. 
Edward wanted to interfere in Scottish affairs more 
Edward ^^^^^^ earlier English monarchs had done, 
quarrels with and Balliol Avas very much annoyed at his 
conquers" action. In a very few years war broke out. 
Scotland. Jn 1296 Edward invaded Scotland, took 
Balliol prisoner, and forced him to give up his kingdom. 
Then he appointed English governors to rule over the 
Scots. He was resolved that he himself would hence- 
forth be the only king in Scotland. 

5. The Scots hated to be subject to the English king. 
Things were made worse by some of the English gov- 

. . , ernors treating^ the Scots very cruelly. After 

Rising of ^ -, 1 r^ : • 1. • ; 

Wallace, and a few mouths the Scots rose m revolt against 
Edward's Edward. Thev chose as their leader a fierce 

second con- ^ tt/'/t" ttt n 

quest of and resolute soldier, named WiUiam Waliace. 

Scotland. Under his guidance they drove the English 
out of Scotland. Next year Edward came himself, at 
the head of a great army, to win back Scotland to his 
obedience. In 1298 he defeated Wallace in the battle of 
Falkirk, but though Edward won this battle, he was 



-1307.] 



Edward I. 



83 



far from having subdued Scotland. The Scots were de- 
termined not to be ruled by him, and as soon as tlie king 
put them down in one place, they rose in revolt in 
another. Wallace remained at liberty for seven years 
after his defeat at Falkirk. At last, however, he was 



SOUTHERN SCOTLAND during the later Middle Ages. 




taken prisoner, and put to death as a traitor. Tlie Scots 
said that Wallace was no traitor, since he was only de- 
fending his native country, and had never taken an oath 
to obey Edward. After his death Edward subdued all 
the land. This second conquest was, as Ave have seen, a 
much harder business than the first conquest in the days 
of John Balliol. Yet it did not last much lono-er. 

o 

6. Very soon the Scots rose once more in revolt. 
They had now a new leader in Rohcrt Bruce^ grandson of 
the Robert Bruce who had claimed the throne against 



84 Edward I. [l27J^ 

John Balliol. Bruce had till now generally been on 
Edward's side, but he had a quarrel with another 
nobleman, named John Corny n, and murdered 
Bruce be- him in a church. Edward would not forgive 
comes King Bruce this lawless deed, so Bruce rose in re- 
volt in 1306, and was joined by so many that 
he was soon crowned King of Scots. Edward, who 
was now nearly seventy years old, saw that he must 
conquer Scotland for a third time. He marched to 
Carlisle with a great army, but before he could reach 
Scottish soil death carried him off, at Burgh-on-Sands, 
near the border. Thus he failed to accomplish that 
conquest of Scotland on which he had set his heart. 
It was natural that the Scots should look upon him as 
a cruel tyrant. Yet, even in dealing with the Scots, 
Edward had meant to do right. He believed that it 
was best for all Britain to be ruled by one king, and 
that he would be able to govern the Scots more wisely 
than they could themselves. The Scots, however, loved 
their freedom so much that nothing would induce them 
to accept even benefits from Edward's hands. 

7. It is pleasant to turn from Edward's constant Avars 

with the Scots to his doings in England, where he 

, , proved himself a very successful king". He 

Edward the ^ „ „ •{ , ^ e 

creator of was lamous lor passing a large number oi 
modern ^yj^g laws, and for makino' England more 

parliament. ■^ ^ 

peaceable and better governed than it ever 
had been before. The greatest benefit that Edward did 
to England was to ciill together the Model Parliament 
in 1295. This settled that parliament should always 
be, like Simon of Montfort's Parliament of 1265, com- 
posed of representatives of the people as well as of the 
great lords and bishops. Tlie result was that, before 
long, parliament was divided into two parts. The lords 
and bishops made up the House of Lords, and the mem- 
bers for the counties and towns formed the House of 



-1307.] Edward I. 85 

Commons. Thus Edward I. is, even more than Shnon of 
Montfort, the creator of the free English Constitution. 

8. Before long Edward Avas forced to make greater 
concessions to his people than he Avished to do. In 
1297 he found that the people Avould not ^u r r. 
help him against the Scots unless he agreed mationofthe 
to a new Confirmation of the Charters, by ^^^^^t^rs. 
which the king promised to raise no more fresh taxes 
without the consent of parliament. It is the best proof 
of the new love of freedom that had grown up in 
England that the people were able to force so strong 
and fierce a king as Edward to yield to their demands. 

Summary. Edward I. conquers Wales, makes John Balliol 
King- of Scots, and then conquers Scotland. Scots rise under 
Wallace and are again conquered. Edward calls together a Model 
Parliament and confirms the charters. Robert Bruce becomes 
King of Scots and Edward dies on his way to conquer Scotland 
for the third time. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Which king granted 
the first great charter? Is the English Constitution written out 
like the Constitution of the United States ? Why was Scotland a 
hard country to subdue? 

Edward's Crusade: Yonge, C. M., The Prince and the Page. 

Wars in AVales : Gilliat, E., The King^s Reeve. 

AVallace and Bruce: Henty, G. A., In Freedonis Cause. 

Books for Teachers. Tout, T. F., Edward I.; Edwards, 
O. M., Story of Wales. 



CHAPTER XIV 
Edward II., 1307-1327 

1. Edward of Carnarvon now became Edward II. 
He thought of nothing but amusing himself, and 
Edward II allowed worthless favorites to rule England 
and in his name. The first of these was Piers 

aves on. Qavcstoii, a joung man who came from Gas- 
cony, the part of southern France which the English 
kings still ruled after John had lost most of the English 
king's lands in France. Gaveston was a friend of the 
new king when a boy. Edward I., seeing that his 
influence on his son was bad, had driven him out of the 
country. As soon as his father was dead, Edward II. 
called Gaveston back to England, and gave him many 
rich estates. Before long the barons grew indignant that 
Gaveston should have more influence over the king 
than they had themselves. They took him prisoner, and 
cruelly put him to death. Edward was so weak and lazy 
that he soon forgot even the death of his best friend. 

2. While Edward was quarrelling with his barons 
about Gaveston, Robert Bruce was gradually conquering 
The Battle ^^^ Scotland. At last Stirling was the only 
of Bannock- place that still held out against him, and 
burn. Stirling was closely besieged by him. Edward 
and his barons were now better friends than they had 
been, and in 1314 they agreed to march with an army to 
prevent the Scots from taking Stirling. The English got 
near to the besieged town. Bruce had, however, posted 
his army at Bannockhurn, a little south of Stirling, 
and the only way for the English to reach the garrison 



Edward II. 



87 



was for them to drive away the Scots. Bruce's army 
was nearly all on foot, while most of the English were 
mounted on horseback. l>race placed his Scots in a 
strong position, on rising ground and behind a bog. 
He also dug pits before his soldiers, and covered them 



A. Bruce's Armij 

b. Pits dug by Bruce. 

C. English Cavalry... 

D. English Infantry... 




Battle of Bannockburn. 



over lightly with turf and sticks. The English cavalry 
rushed at full speed towards the Scots, but many of the 
Southerners fell into the pits, and all were thrown into 
confusion. The result was that the battle of Bannock- 
burn proved an overwhelming victory for the Scots. 

3. A few years later the English recognized Bruce as 
Robert, King of Scots, and agreed that the Robert 
English king had no claim to be his overlord. 
Much trouble resulted from there being two 
independent kings in one little island. For 
the next two hundred years the English and Scots 



Bruce rec- 
ognized as 
King of 
Scots. 



88 Edward II. 

were nearly always fighting each other, and each nation 
worked all sorts of damage on its rival. 

4. After Bannockburn things got worse and worse. 
Edward was now ruled by new favorites, the two 
The deposi- Hugh Despcnsers, father and son. The pride 
tion of and violence of the Despensers disgusted 

everybody with them and their master. At 
last even Edward's wife, Isabella of France, turned 
against him, and joined his enemies. The wretched 
Edward was now driven from the throne, and his eldest 
son made king, as Edward III. Next year Edward II. 
was cruelly put to death, at Berkeley/ Castle, in Glouces- 
tershire. In those days deposed kings did not live 
long. 

Summary. Edward XL, weak and worthless, is under the con- 
trol of a favorite, Gaveston. Bruce defeats Edward at Bannock- 
burn and is recognized by the English as King of Scots. Edward 
is deposed and put to death. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. What was the differ- 
ence in results between the wars against Wales and the wars 
against Scotland? To what great family of nations did the Scots 
and Welsh belong ? Where did the Welsh live before they went 
to Wales? 

Bruce: Aguilar, G., The Days of Bruce. 

Bannockburn : Lanier, S., Bofs Froissart. 

Books for Teachers. Maxwell, Sir H., Robert the Bruce; 
Mackintosh, J., Story of Scotland. 



CHAPTER XV 
Edward III., 1327-1377 

1. Edivard III. was a vain, showy man, who was fond 
of pomp, and kept up a magnificent court. He wished 
to win battles, and to make a name for him- _, , , ___ 

1- rr^i p ^ • Edward III. 

self as a soldier. The most famous thmg and the 
that happened in his long reign was the yrar^^^w 
beginning of a great war between England 
and France, which has been called the Hundred Years' 
War. This does not mean that England and France 
were constantly fighting for exactly a hundred years. 
Yet for longer than that time the two countries were 
nearly always unfriendly, and generally actually at war 
with each other. 

2. There were many causes of this mighty struggle. 
The French and English could never long remain friends 
so long as the English king remained Duke 

of Gascony. This made him tlie subject of Causes of 
the King of France, and led to many disputes 
breaking out between the two. INIoreover, the French 
had given a great deal of help to Robert Bruce and the 
Scots, and the English thought that France had no 
right to interfere between England and her island 
enemies. However, the thing that brought these dis- 
putes to a head was Edward HI.'s claim to the French 
throne. 

3. In 1328 the old line of French kings died out, and 
the French made Plillip, Count of Valois^ their king as 
Philip VI. They did this because he was the nearest 
male heir to the former kings. It was true that there 



90 Edward III. [l327- 

were nearer heirs, and among them was Edward III. 
himself, whose mother, Isabella of France, was sister to 

the French king who had reigned before 
claims the ' PbiHp of Valois. As the French would not 
French permit a woman to reign in France, they 

would not even allow a man to claim the 
throne through his mother. They therefore passed over 
Edward's claim, and for nearly ten years Edward said 
very little about it. 

4. After all this time Edward quarrelled with Philip 
VI. for various other reasons. Thereupon he renewed 

his former pretensions. He now took the 
fAh'^war title of King of France, and declared that 

he was bound to go to war to drive out the 
usurper Philip. His claim was not a just one, for it 
was a question for Frenchmen only who was to be the 
king of their own country. Edward followed up his 
claim with such vigor that he soon won famous victories 
over the French, and gained for the English the reputa- 
tion of being the best soldiers in Europe. 

Table showing Edward III.'s Claim to the French 
Throne. 

Philip III., King of France. 

I 



I I 

Philip IV., King of France. Charles. Count of Valois. 

I I 

Queen Isabella, Philip VI. of Valois, King of France, 

m. Edward II. I 

I I 

Edward III. John, King of France. 

5. One of Edward's greatest victories over the 
French w^as in 1346. In that year Edward and his 

son, Edward, Prince of Wales — called, from 
Crecy. ^^^® color of his armor, the Black Prince — 

landed in Normandy and marched almost to 
the gates of Paris, the capital of France. But the 



-1377.1 Edward III. 



91 



French now gathered together a much larger army 
than that of the English, and forced them to retreat 
towards the north. At last the Encrlish turned, and 
gave battle to the enemy at Crecy. The English pre- 
pared for the fight very much as the Scots had done 
at Bannockburn. Those who had horses sent them to 
the rear, and all stood on foot, shoulder to shoulder, 
protected by a strong position on a hill, to face the 
charge of the French, who still fought on horseback, 
after the fashion that we saw the Normans had adopted 
at Hastings. The result of the battle proved once 
more what Bannockburn had shown alread}^, that 
well-drilled foot soldiers could defeat horse soldiers. 
In particular tlie English archers did excellent service 
by shooting showers of arrows against the French 
horsemen. Thouo-h the French were much more 
numerous than the English, they were very badly 
beaten. The Black Prince, tliough a mere boy, fought 
very bravely, and won for liimself a great name. Soon 
afterwards the victorious English captured the French 
town of Calais, after a long siege. It remained English 
for more than two hundred years. 

6. Ten years after the battle of Cr^cy, the Black 
Prince won another victory, almost as famous as Crdcy 
itself. This time Edward III. was in England, 
but his son was now old enough to fight by po^^gj-s^ 
himself. His father had made him Duke of 
Gascony, and he now lived at Bordeaux, the chief town 
of that duchy. In 1356 he led a brilliant army north- 
wards, against the French. King Philip was now 
dead, but his son. King John, tried to block the Black 
Prince's retreat home to Bordeaux, and forced him 
to fight a battle near Poitiers^ against overwhelming 
odds. The Black Prince and his gallant English and 
Gascon soldiers easil}^ defeated the French, and made 
King John a prisoner. The Black Prince treated his 



92 Edward III. [1327- 

defeated enemy with great generosity. Though John 
was his foe, he highly honored him because he had 
fought so bravely. 

7. France now fell into a terrible state, and in 1360 
King John was glad to make peace in the Treaty of 

Bretigny. By this Edward gave up his 

'^^^ T/.^^*^ claim to the French throne, and in return 
of Bretigny. . ' 

for that he received, besides Calais, nearly 
all the lands between the Loire and the Pyrenees, the 
same districts that Eleanor of Aquitaine had brought 
to the English Crown on her marriage to Henry II. 

8. This peace did not last very long. The provinces 
ceded to Edward rose in revolt against him, and the 
^, French soon beg-an to help them. By this 

The war _ & i j 

renewed and time the French had found oat that the 
France lost. Ej-,giiyi^ ^^^^^ better than they Avere in 
fighting pitched battles. They now avoided regular 
fights, and strove to wear down the English by making 
them march about till thc}^ were tired out. This new 
fashion of fighting soon proved very successful, especially 
as the Black Prince fell ill, and went home from 
Bordeaux to die in his own land. Before the end of 
Edward II I. 's reign, the English had lost nearly all that 
they had won, save a few coast towns like Calais and 
Bordeaux. 

9. The Englisli won great glory in these wars, and 
took an immense pride in themselves and their country. 
Englishmen ^^1^© result of this was that the English king 
beconie proud ^nd uoblcs began to speak English. Ever 
country and siucc the Nomiau Conquest French had 
language. been the ordinary language of the upper 
classes in England. Now, however, English was again 
spoken by the great as well as by the smaller folk, and 
many famous books were written in it. 

10. The English suffered as much as they gained by 
the war. They became fiercer and more cruel and 



.1377. 



Edward III. 



93 



I \English Territory 

H French 

A Battlefields. 




The English Dominions in France after the Treaty of Bretigny, 1300. 



94 Edward III. [i327- 

greedy. Even a kindly gentleman like the Black Prince 
dealt harshly with the common people. They soon 
found tliat the French war meant heavy 
Death^^^^ taxes. A terrible plague called the Black 
Death devastated England so cruelly that it 
was believed that one man in three died of it. The 
worst outbreak of this scourge was in 1349. 

11. Things grew still worse as Edward III. became old 
and foolish. At last parliament set to work to try to 
The Good make the king rule better. In 1376 a parlia- 
Parliament meut met, which did so much for the people 
of Edward that men called it the Good Parliament. 
^^^- The last service that the Black Prince did to 

his country was to support the Good Parliament against 
his father. While the Prince of Wales was thus on the 
side of the people, his younger brother, the Duke of 
Lancaster, upheld the old king and his courtiers. This 
duke was called John of G-aunt, because he was born at 
Gaunt, or Ghent, in Flanders. There were hot words 
passed between the two brothers. Edward died while 
the parliament was still sitting, and then John of Gaunt 
and the courtiers were strong enough to send the 
parliament home, and bring back the evil ministers 
that parliament had driven from power. Soon after 
Edward III. died, after a reign that gave England more 
glory than happiness. And even the glory was gone 
long before his death. 

Summary. Edward III. claims the French throne and begins 
the Hundred Years' War against France. He and his son the 
Black Prince defeat the French at Crecy and Poitiers and make 
the Treaty of Bre'tigny. The French renew the war and gain back 
what they had lost. The nobles begin to speak English. The 
Black Death and heavy taxes cause much misery and the Good 
Parliament exacts reforms from Edward III., who shortly after- 
wards dies. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Look up the word 
" Salic " in the dictionary and show what it had to do with the 



-1377. 



Edward III. 



95 



Hundred Years' War. What other parliaments do you recall? 
^V^as the Hundred Years' War good for England? 

The Black Prince: Yonge, C. M., The Lances of Lynwood ; 
Edgar, J. G., Creasy and Poictiers. 

Crecy: Green, E. E., In the Days of Chicalry. 

Hundred Years' War: Henty, G. A., St. George for England; 
Lanier, S., Boy''s Froissart. 

Books for Teachers. AVarburton, W^., Edward III.; Oman, 
C. W. C, England and the Hundred Years' War; Ashley, W. J., 
Wars of Edward III. 



Table showing the Descendants of Edward IH. 



Edward III. 



1 I I I 

Edward the Lionel, Duke Tlie Duke Johu of 

Black Prince, of Clarence. of York, Gaunt, Duke 

I I grandfather of Lancaster. 

Richard II. Philippa. of | 



The Duke of 
Gloucester. 



The Earl of 

March, 

grand fatlier 

of 



Richard, 

Duke of 

York. 



! 

Edward IV., 

m. Elizabeth 

Woodville. 

I 



Richard III. 



I 

Edward V. 



I 

Richard, 

Duke of 

York. 



Henry IV. 



Henry V., 

m. Catliarine 

of France. 

I 

Henry VI., 

m. Margaret 

of Anjou. 

Edward. 

Prince of 

Wales. 



John Beaufort, 
grandfather of 



John, Duke 
of Bedford. 



Lady Margaret 

Beaufort, m. 

Edmund Tudor. 



Elizabeth, m. Henry VII. 

I 
Henry VIII. 



CHAPTER XVI 
Richard II., i377-i399 

1. The next king was Richard II. He was the eldest 

son'of the Black Pruice, and was only a child when his 

■ o-randfather died. During the first years of 

Richard II. England for him, but everything went wrong, 
and the people'' became very discontented. At last, in 
1381, there was a general revolt all over England. 

2. ' This rebellion is often called the Feasants' Revolt, 
because the peasants, or country people, took a very 
large share in it. The most famous of the 
The Peas- jigings was in Kent. It began because one 
ants' Revolt. ^^ ^^^^ gatherers of a new and hated tax was 
rude to the daughter of a workman named Wat Tyler. 
Wat killed the fellow on the spot. He then put him- 
self at the head of a swarm of Laboring men, and per- 
suaded them to rise in revolt against the new tax. 
Under Wat's command the rebels marched to London. 
They had plenty of real complaints, and had suffered 
cruelly. They were ignorant and brutal, and committed 
terrible deeds of violence. They burned John of Gaunt's 
house, and declared that they would have no king named 
John. 

3. When the rebels had got to London the ministers 
were very much frightened. The young king, though 
not sixteen years old, showed wonderful coolness. He 
went out to meet Wat Tyler, and asked him what he 
wanted. Tyler answered roughly, and some of Rich- 



-1399.] Richard II. 97 

ard's attendants thought he meant to kill the king. 

Thereupon one of them slew the rebel leader with his 

dag^Sfer. The angary mob cried for venc^eance, „ . ^ ^ 

^ . 1 ■ • .1 TT,^ 1 1 Richard puts 

and the king was m great danger. Kichard, down the 

however, never lost heart. " I will be your Peasants' 
leader," he said to the followers of the 
murdered Tyler, and the peasants took him at his word. 
He persuaded them to go home quietly, and promised 
to set right the things about which they had complained. 
There was a good deal of hard fighting before the rebel- 
lion was put down, and in subduing the rising the king's 
friends behaved as cruelly as the rebels themselves had 
done in the time of their success. Though the Peasants' 
Revolt seemed at first sight a failure, yet some good 
came from it. It frightened John of Gaunt from power. 
It showed everybody that even the poor laborer must 
have his rights respected, or he would take up arms and 
become a danger to the whole State. 

4. There were other discontented people in England 
besides the peasants. Ever since the distant days when 
Augustine first taught Englishmen the 
Christian faith, everybody had believed the theVhurch^ 
teaching^ of the Church. The Church was 

not so pure or so active as it had once been. It was so 
wealthy that many worldly men became clergymen in 
order to enjoy its riches and power. 

5. About this time a priest, named John Wy cliff e^ 
began to teach that the Church was in sore need of being 
reformed. Wycliffe was so bold, learned, 

and hard-working that a great many people wycliffe. 

listened to what he had to say. His followers 

were called Lollards ; that is, babblers, or sayers of vain 

things. 

6. Wycliffe taught that the Pope of Rome had no 
right to be head of the Church in England. He advised 
the nobles to take away from the Church its wealth, so 

7 



98 Richard II. [i377- 

that the clergy, being poor like Christ, might also be able 
to live more Christlike lives. He translated the Bible 
W cliffe ^^^^ English, so that Englishmen might be 
tries to re- able to read it for themselves. He sent out 
Church.^ a number of his disciples, who were called 
Wycliffe's Poor Priests. These men ex- 
plained their master's teaching to the people, and spread 
copies of his English Bibles. At last he boldly denied 




John Wy cliffe. 

some of the chief doctrines of the Church. At this 
many lovers of old ways were frightened. The bishops 
stopped Wycliffe's teaching, and made him live at his 
parish of Lutterworth in Leicestershire. There he died 
soon afterwards, in 1384. Yet even after his death the 
Lollards remained very numerous. 



-1399.] Richard II. 99 

7. At the same time as Wycliffe there lived another 
man who wrote in English. This was 
G-eoffrey Chaucer^ and the book he wrote was chaucer. 
called the Canterlmry Tales. 

8. Richard II. did not carry ont the promise of his 

youth. He was no idler like Edward II., but he was 

proud, iealous, whimsical, and eag^er to be a 

1 IxTi il-iv ^- Richard II. 

despot. He was long kept m leadmg-strmgs tries to make 
by his uncles. After John of Gaunt gave himself a 
up the government, another of his uncles, ^^^° * 
the Duke of Gloucester, took the chief place among his 
ministers. One day Richard suddenly asked his uncle 
Gloucester, '' How old am I ? " Gloucester told him that 
he was twenty-two years old. Richard answered, " Then 
I am quite old enough to manage my own affairs. " He 
drove his uncle from power, and soon got everything 
into his own hands. Then he took his revenge, and 
slew several of his chief enemies, one of them being 
his uncle Gloucester. He now thought he might 
rule like a despot, and laugh at parliament and the 
nobles. 

9. One of Richard's old enemies was his cousin, Henry 
of Lancaster, the eldest son of John of Gaunt. Henry 
had deserted Gloucester, and Richard had ^^ 

l^ c 111- A f Henry of 

tnereiore pardoned hnn. A few years later, Lancaster 
however, Richard found an excuse for send- 55.P°^^^, „ 

TT 1 TT Richard II. 

ing Henry into banishment. While Henry 
was abroad, John of Gaunt died, and then Richard laid 
hands upon the great estates of the duchy of Lancaster. 
Henry was very angry at this, and, in 1399, he landed in 
England, declaring that he had come back to claim his 
father's lands. Many people joined him, being disgusted 
with the despotic rule of Richard. Henry was soon so 
successful that he claimed his cousin's throne as well 
as his father's duchy. Richard made a very poor fight 
for his kingdom. Parliament recognized Henry as king. 



L.ofO. 



Richard II. 



[1377- 



and deprived Richard of 
liichard, like Edward II., 
murdered in prison. 



[lis throne. A Uttle later, 
his great-grandfather, was 




y^ bigptmjm^:^^ mabc of tunut-lirartt^ 

hofhs usereaou peftur of Ctpve/ftud yc ^myt 
?of i^clCttDriBaS bom on pcTBatiiS/ flnDpT)i tofi?/ 

tt i^flSguoD^^lictrpartitrpcl^ero bcclmcIR^ 

1^ y C cumuO ittuniBctiD iBaS^maad .oDfii/miD ^iJ 
/fciDe/];c ftrmomctttbc maaOw v^tt9^i)Di8^of tettte: 
I Dcparte mmns fro v$ait\8JanOgd(i mafi^c ftr 

/y c ammucttt-fuoi^eleieatrisf^^at wwm (m v^fir' 
tnamftil7titu?asD(mCb/audsT)Ddc|nOrv^ftniiflmct: 



Portion of a page of tlie Manuscript of Wycliffe's Bible. 

(Three-fourths Scale of Original.) 



Summary. John of Gaunt rules England badly during the 
childhood of Richard II., son of the Black Prince. Peasants' 
Revolt is put down by Richard. John Wycliffe tries to reform 
the Church, but he and his followers are persecuted. Richard 
rules despotically and is deposed by his cousin, Henry of 
Lancaster. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Why did not the 

peasants want a king named " John " ? What kings of England 



-1399.] Richard II. loi 

had had trouble with the clergy ? Did the villeins (peasants) at 
this time have any say as to what their taxes should be ? 

Wat Tyler: Bramston, M., The Banner of St. George; Gilliat, 
E., John Standish, or the Harrowing of London; Henty, G. A., ^ 
March on London. 

John Ball : Morris, "W., A Dream of John Ball. 

Peasants' Revolt : Lanier, S., Boy's Froissart. 

Lollards: Howitt, AV., Jack of the Mill. 

Books for Teachers. Poole, R. L., WycUf; Gibbins, H., 
English Social Reformers. 



CHAPTER XVII 
The Angevin Period, 1 154-1399 

1. During this long period of more than two hundred 
years the Church, the classes of society, the feudal 

system, chivalry, the gilds, and the manor 
&nges. remained much the same as they had been 
during the period of the Norman kings. Important 
changes did take place, however, in the powers of the 
king and of parliament, in the courts, in the towns, and 
in the institution of slavery. Slavery died out entirely. 
The attempts of the haK-free villeins to have villeinage 
abolished failed, though many villeins got their freedom, 
and the institution of villeinage began from the close of 
this period to die out gradually. 

2. Under the last of the Norman kings the great 
nobles of England had acquired much power and built 

many strong castles so as to resist the king. 

Under Henry II. the nobles lost some of 
their power, but under his successors the nobles were 
strong enough to make the king sign the Magna Carta 
and agree to give up some of the powers he and his 
predecessors had been exercising. They forced the other 
Plantagenet kings to summon parliaments, they put 
Henry III. under the control of a council of their own 
number, and they deposed Edward II. and Richard II. 
Thus under the Plantagenets the power of the king 
steadily declined. 

3. The name of parliament came gradually into use 
in the course of the thirteenth century to designate the 
Grand Council, and after that date the name became 



1399. 



The Angevin Period 



03 




Beverley Minster, Yorkshire — the South Transept ; built about 
1220-1230. 

(Showiug the Gothic style of Architecture.) 



Parliament. 



very common. The nobles in their struggles with the 

king saw that it was a very good thing to have the 

support of the peoi)le. So in the Magna 

Cartii the nobles forced John to promise to 

redress not only the wrongs of the nobles, but also those 

of the merchants and other classes. It was for the same 

purpose that Simon of Montfort had representatives from 



I04 The Angevin Period [ll54- 

the counties and towns come to his parliament in 1265. 
You must bear in mind that after all only a small num- 
ber of people had the right to choose such representa- 
tives. To vote in the counties a man had to be a free 
landholder or one of the lesser nobles, and to vote in the 
towns a voter had to be a man of some wealth and prom- 
inence. The large mass of the people — the villeins and 
the poor artisans of the towns — had no share in the 
voting. At that time, however, the towns and the 
counties were not so anxious as they are to-day to be 
represented in parliament. They regarded it as a burden 
and tried to get out of it. As the men who were sent 
had to pay their own expenses, they too did not wish to 
serve. 

4. As the power of the nobles increased so the power 
of parliament increased, for the nobles at this time were 

the most important members of parliament. 

Powers of Parliament got control of taxation, and 
parliament. o , . , . 

usually no law could be passed without its 
consent, or without the consent of both houses after it 
was divided in Edward III.'s reign. It frequently 
asserted its power to alter the succession to the crown, 
to appoint regencies over a young king, or in a king's 
absence, to impeach the king's ministers, and to depose 
the king and set up a new one, as in the case of Richard 
11. and Henry of Lancaster. 

5. In earlier times very little money was given to the 
king in the way of taxes. His tenants gave him 

military service in wars and certain produce 
Taxation. fy^yy^ ^\^q[y estates in payment of feudal dues. 
As the kingdom grew, however, this method of paying 
dues to the king was very awkward. Instead of produce, 
money payments for feudal dues were made to the king. 
With the increase in the business of the kingdom, espe- 
cially in the way of foreign wars, the feudal dues to the 
king were no longer sufficient to pay expenses. An 



-1399.] The Angevin Period 105 

extraordinary tax such as Danegeld had to be levied in 
Anglo-Saxon times, and the Norman kings continued to 
levy it although the Danes no longer ravaged the land. 
Henry II. got the nobles to pay him a certain sum called 
scutage (shield-money) in place of their military service. 
As time went on more and more ways were found by 
the king and parliament for getting money. 

6. The ordeal was abolished in England in 1218. 
The trial hy battle was so unpopular that the citizens of 
many towns w^ere exempted from it by their 
charters. The compiirgation was gradually 
superseded by the trial hy jury. Wlien a crime was 
committed and a man accused of it, sufficient men 
were called from the vicinity in which the crime Avas 
committed until twelve were found who declared from 
their own knowledge that the accused did or did not 
commit the crime. Thus this early jury was really a 
body of tvitnesses. It was not like our modern jury of 
twelve men, who, knowing little about the case they are 
trying, have Avitnesses called before them and then from 
hearing their evidence pronounce a unanimous decision. 
The early jury shows us how it happens tliat our modern 
jury of tweh^e men must give a unanimous decision. 
The trial by jury was regarded as so important that a 
clause was put in the Magna Carta, confirming it as a 
right to be enjoyed by all. 

Besides this jury, known as the 2^efty Jicry, there also 
grew up a body of men called the jury of presentment. 
It consisted of sixteen or more men of the county, and 
they had to present for trial any criminals tliat they 
could find in their districts. This jury, which has 
developed into our grand jury presented these criminals 
for trial at the county court, or before the king's justice 
Avhen he came on circuit into the county. 

The king's courts over wliich the king himself or the 
chief justice of the Privy Council presided, either sat at 



o6 



The Angevin Period 



[1154- 



Westminster near London or went Avith the king on his 
travels. This was very inconvenient for those who 
wished to have their cases tried and so tlie system grew 
up gradually of sending the royal justices about the 
country to hear cases. From this practice our modern 
circuit courts have grown up. 




Peasants Threshing Wheat with a Flail. 

(From the Luttrel Psalter, ' Vetusta MonumentaJ' ) 

7. During the Crusades many of the towns bought 
charters which gave them freedom from tlie control of 
the king or of the barons. Under these char- 
Sade^^ ^^^ ^®^'^ ^^^® towns became wealthy througli trade. 
The Italian city, Venice, which had profited 
greatly b}^ the Crusades, sent her ships to England to 
trade, and the great league of cities of Northern Europe, 
called the Hanseatic League, established a large yard and 
warehouses at London, called the Steelyard. 

During the time of the Norman kings English trade 
had been mainly internal, and very little was done in the 
way of foreign commerce. All the necessaries of life, 



-1399. 



The Angevin Period 



107 



as we saw, were to be found on the manor. When the 
Black Death came, however, and reduced the number 
of farm laborers, many owners of manors found it paid 
much better to turn the manors into great sheep-farms. 
This was called enclosing the manorial fields, or the sys- 
tem of enclosures. The wool from the sheep was sent to 
Flanders, where it was in great demand by the weavers, 
had sent some wool to Flanders before this 




Longthorpe Manor House, Northampton ; built about 1235. 

(The home of the lord of the manor. The tower was for protection against marauders 
and in time of war.) 



period, but now she sent a great deal more, and the for- 
eign trade grew rapidly. The interference with this 
trade by the French was one of the important causes of 
the Hundred Years' War. 

8. Manufactures did not increase as rapidly as the 
wool-trade. In every town there were arti- Manufac- 
sans engaged in producing certain articles, tures. 
There were some weavers, but most of the English wool 



io8 The Angevin Period 

was sent to Flanders to be woven into cloth. Edward 
III. encouraged Flemish weavers to come to England, 
but in spite of his efforts the large bulk of cloth manu- 
facture was done outside of England. 

9. Though most of the necessaries of life were to be 
found on the manor, nevertheless there were always 

certain articles, such as salt fish and spices, 
and'^ fairs. whicli had to be purchased elsewhere. Ex- 
cept in large cities like London there were 
few shops such as we know. The roads were bad 
and supplies needed had to be bought from merchants 
who came to the great annual fairs in various localities. 
Provisions not obtainable on the manor were to be had 
at the local markets in certain towns at certain times in 
the month. 

10. On account of the decline of serfdom or villein- 
age and the beginning of the enclosures the manor of 

the Norman times was changing very much, 
gncu ure. 1^^^.^^-^^ were now beginning to be rented to 
free farmers in much the same way as they are rented 
nowadays. 

Summary. During the Angevin period the power of the king 
declines and that of parliament increases. Many new forms of 
taxes are introduced, and also new methods of trying criminals. 
Towns and trade flourish, but only slight progress is made in man- 
ufactures. Markets and fairs grow with the increased trade. 
Villeinage is slowly disappearing, and a new class of free farmers 
arising. Enclosures. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Trace the power of 
the king from Anglo-Saxon times. Name and define the feudal 
dues. What w^ere the ordeal, trial by battle, and compurgation? 

Books for Teachers. (See ' Suggestions,' p. viii. — Cheyney 
and Feilden.) 



Part IV. — The Lancastrian and Yorkist 
Kings, 1399-1485 

CHAPTER XVIII 

The Lancastrian Kings, 1399-1461 

1. Parliament had made Henry of Lancaster King 
Henry IV.^ and parliament had every right to do so. 
But son had so often succeeded father to ^j^ Henry 
the English throne, that some people were IV. was 
beginning to get tlie notion that, when one "^^ ^ ^"^' 
king died or was deposed, the nearest heir ought at 
once to receive the throne. Now the nearest heir to 
the throne was not Henry of Lancaster. His father, 
John of Gaunt, was the third son of Edward III., and, 
though Richard II. had no children, yet Lionel^ Duke of 
Clarence, the second son of Edward III., had left a 
daughter, Philippa, whose son, the Earl of 3Iarch, was 
really the nearest representative to Edward III. Yet 
there was no need for parliament to make the Earl of 
March king, and the people had been so much alarmed 
at Richard's attempt to play the despot that it w^as a 
wise tiling not only to get rid of the tyrant, but also to 
set up his chief enemy in his place. Owing his throne 
to parliament, Henry IV. was obliged to govern in ac- 
cordance with its will. His accession, then, was a tri- 
umph for parliament and tlie Constitution. All the 
kings of the House of Lancaster were constitutional 
kings, who generally followed the wishes of parliament. 



no The Lancastrian Kings [1399- 

2. Henry IV. was a great friend of the Church. The 
Church now said that the Lollards, the followers of 

Wy cliff e, were teachers of false doctrine, 
puts down Henry therefore resolved to put them down, 
the Lollards, jjg g^j- ^ jaw passed through parliament by 
which any person declared by the Church to be a teacher 
of false doctrine was to be burned to death. Many Lol- 
lards were put to death under this stern law, and, after a 
few years, the Lollards ceased to give the Church any 
further trouble. It seems to us a cruel thing to burn 
people alive because we do not agree with their religious 
views, but in those days many good men believed that it 
was their duty to stamp out false teaching, even by such 
harsh means as this. 

3. Henry IV.'s reign Avas a short and a troubled one. 
The nobles who had helped him to the throne rose in 

revolt against him. At their head was Henry 
against Percy^ Earl of Northumherland^ and his son, 

Henry IV. g^]^^^ Henry Percy^ whom men called HoUjpur 
because of his rash bravery. They made an alliance with 
a very bold and wise Welsh gentleman, called Given 
Glendower^ who tried to renew the independence of 
Wales, and was for many years obeyed by most Welsh- 
men as Prince of Wales. But the Percies and Owen did 
not work very well together, and gradually Henry was 
able to beat them all. Glendower, even when defeated, 
still held his own among the mountains of Wales, and 
died a free man early in the next reign. 

4. At last Henry got over his worst difficulties. But 

he wore himself out in the struggle, and 

Henr^ ^v ^^^^ "^^^ wretchcd health. On his death, in 

1413, his eldest son Henry became Henry V. 

5. As a boy Henry V. is said to have been wild and 
disorderly. But all the stories told about him can 
hardly be true, since he was ke[)t hard at work by his 
father, fighting the Welsh and doing other things. How- 



-1461. 



The Lancastrian Kings 



III 



ever that may be, lie was exceedingly grave and vir- 
tuous after he became king. He was a splendid soldier, 
and very anxious for glory. At the same 
time, he w^as wise enough to follow the ad 
vice of parliament at home. He was, there 
fore, both a very popular and a very successful king. 
The great event of his i-eign was the renewal of the war 
with France. 



Character of 
Henry V. 




Owen Glendower as Prince of Wales. 

(From his Great Seal. ) 



6. Henry V., like Edward IH,, claimed the French 
crown, though his claim was even more absurd than 
that of his great-grandfather, since he was yj^g battle 
not, as we have seen, Edward's nearest heir, of Agin- 
However, in 1415 he led a well-trained army 
into France. After marching through Normandy, Henry 
turned northwards, like Edward HI., to retreat to Calais, 
and was followed up by a French army much larger 
than his own. Again like Edward HI., Henry was 



112 The Lancastrian Kings [l399- 

forced to fight a battle with his pursuers. This was the 
battle of Agincourt. It took place not very far from 
Crecy, and was quite as brilliant and magnificent a vic- 
tory. Again the English archers and infantry over- 
whelmed the proud nobles of France. However, the 
victorious army was so small that all Henry could do 
after the battle was to make his way back to Calais. 

7. A few years later, Henry again invaded Nor- 
mandy, and gradually conquered it. The Normans 

fought bravely against him, but they got 
o/rro^es^^ very little help from the rest of France. 

France was, in those days, in a deplorable 
condition. The king, Charles FZ, was a madman, and 
the French nobles thought more of fighting each other 
than of resisting the English invaders. There were two 
great parties among them. One was headed by the mad 
king's son, whose name was also Charles. The other 
was headed by his cousin John^ Duke of Burgundy, a 
very powerful prince. At last the friends of Charles, 
the king's son, cruelly murdered the Duke of Burgundy. 
His followers were so disgusted that they made a treaty 
with Henry of England, by which they joined with the 
English. By this treaty, called the Treaty of Troyes, 
the mad king was to go on reigning for the rest of his 
life, but Avas to marry his daughter Catharine to Henry 
V. Moreover, as the French king could not really gov- 
ern, Henry was to rule the country in Charles VI.'s 
name. On the mad king's death, Henry was to become 
king of France, and ever after the two thrones were to 
be united under his children by Catharine. 

8. In 1422 Henry V. died. Charles VI. of France 
died soon afterwards, and the two thrones of France and 
England thus went to the baby son of Henry and Cath- 
arine, who was proclaimed king when only a few months 
old. Luckily, the little Henry VI. had a wise guardian 
in his uncle, John, Duke of Bedford, a true brother of 



-1461.] The Lancastrian Kings 113 

Henry V. Bedford strove with all his might to win 
for his nephew the throne of France, as well as the 
throne of England. Thanks to the help of 
Philip, the new Duke of Burgundy, Bedford upholds 
managed to make most of northern France Henry vi.'s 
obey his nephew as king. South of the 
River Loire the old king's son was proclaimed Charles 
VII. But he was lazy and feeble, and men had not yet 
forgotten how he had murdered the Duke of Burgundy. 
The result was that neither Charles VII. nor Bedford 
was strong enough to beat the other. This was the 
worst of all things for France, which suffered terrible 
misery from the constant fighting. 

9. A great many Frenchmen, the Burgundian party 
they were called, still fought on the English side. It 
seems stransre to us that men should side ^^ . . 

. ° . . . The mission 

With the loreigner against their own coun- of Joan of 
trymen. But Frenchmen hated each other '^^^• 
more than they hated the English, and love of father- 
land seemed dead in their breasts. At last there hap- 
pened one of the most wonderful things in all history. 
In 1429 a country girl, named Joan of Arc^ appeared at 
the Coui't of Charles VII. She told liim that God had 
sent her to save France from the foreigner, and to make 
Charles the real king of all France. The careless king 
had little faith in what Joan said, but things Avere so 
desperate that he let her do what she wished. 

10. At that moment the English were besieging 

Orleans^ and the French were on the point of yielding 

them the town. Joan now donned armor , 

Joan 

like a man, and forced her way at the head relieves 
of a troop of soldiers into the besieg^ed city. Orleans 

O */ 3.T1C1 tflkc^ 

Her faith and courage inspired the defenders Charles VII. 
with a new spirit. Before long she drove *° Reims, 
the English from the siege. Then she led Charles to 
the city of Reims^ in whose cathedral all the French 

8 



114 



The Lancastrian Kings 




WAIKEH * COCKEBELL. DEL 



I \ English Territory IH French ^M Burgund/on 

A Battlefields. 

Lands held by Henry VI. and Charles VII. in France about 1429. 



-1461.] The Lancastrian Kings 115 

kings were crowned. She stood by while Charles was 
crowned kinof. Then she led him back over the Loire. 

11. Even now Joan's mission was not finished. She 
wrote to the English, telling them to go back home, as 
she had been commanded by God to expel 

them from her country. After more feats '^}^f death 

1 11 1 °^ Joan. 

of valor she grew a little reckless, and at 
last fell into the hands of her enemies, who burned lier 
to death at Rouen. She died so nobly that the rough 
Enoflish soldiers who watched her were stricken with 
awe. "We are undone," they cried, "for this maid 
whom we have burned is indeed a saint." 

12. The simple faith of Joan of Arc saved France 
from ruin. She made the French who fought for the 
English ashamed of themselves, and, not 

many years after her martyrdom, the Duke t^e English 
of Burgundy himself gave up the English power in 
alliance, and recognized his father's mur- 
derer, as Charles VIL, the lawful King of France. Bed- 
ford struggled heroically to prevent the ruin of the 
English cause, but died in the same year in which 
France and Burgundy made peace. The English were 
at last forced to ask for a truce, and in return for a 
short period of rest, Henry VI. was married to Margaret 
of Anjou, the niece of Charles VII. Before long, how- 
ever, the French renewed the war, and drove the Eng- 
lish out of Normandy, which tliey had conquered thirty 
years before. At last, in 1453, the English were driven 
out of Gascony, which had been ruled by its English 
dukes since the days of Henry II. Of all the English 
king's old lands in France, Calais alone remained to him. 

13. Henry VI. liad now grown up to manhood. He 
was good, pious, and intelligent, but he was not strong 
enough, either in mind or body, to rule England. His 
wife, Margaret of Anjou, had the courage and force 
which he did not possess. People hated her because 



ii6 The Lancastrian Kings 

she was a Frenchwoman, and she always thought more 
of helping her own friends than of helping England. 

Under such a king as Henry the nobles could 
weak^rufe '^ do what they pleased. England was soon 

almost as full of bloodshed and violence as 
France had been. By degrees Englishmen found out 
that things would never get better as long as Henry 
was on the throne. In 1453, however, Henry suddenly 
w^ent mad. 

14. In their despair, men turned to his cousin, Richard^ 
Duke of York. York was the grandson and heir of that 
Richard ^^^^ of March who was descended from 
Duke of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, the second son of 

°^ * Edward III. By birth, then, he was nearer 

the throne than the king himself. As yet, however, no 
one thought of making him king. When Henry went 
mad, York was made Protector. Unluckily, Henry soon 
recovered, and drove York from power. The best 
chance of good rule was thus lost. 

15. York would not be put aside without a struggle. 

In 1455 he waged war against the king's ministers, and 

Tv,^ A^^r.^: defeated them at the Battle of St. Albans. 
The deposi- ^^ 

tion of This was the beginning of thirty years of 

Henry VI. struggle. York was soon cheated out of 
the fruits of victory, and once more took up arms. 
At last he claimed the throne, declaring that he was the 
rightful heir, and that all the Lancastrians were usurpers. 
Henry had not enough spirit to fight vigorously, even 
for his own rights, but Queen Margaret strove with all 
her might to prevent York from fulfilling his purpose. 
Before long she defeated and slew York, in the Battle of 
Wakefield. York's son, Edward, proved a more danger- 
ous enemy to Margaret than his father had ever been. 
He marched to London, and was proclaimed King 
Edward IV. On Palm Sunday, 1461, he won the 
Battle of Toivton, near York. This battle secured 



-1461.] The Lancastrian Kings 117 

the throne for Edward. Margaret fled to France, and 
Henry was imprisoned in the Tower of London. 

Summary. Parliament makes Henry IV. king. He puts down 
the Lollards and rebellious nobles. Henry V. succeeds him, claims 
the French crown, wins the battle of Agincourt, and has the French 
crown assured, him by Treaty of Troyes, according to which he 
marries the daughter of the French king, Charles VI. Henry V. 
and Charles VI. die. Duke of Bedford wars against France to 
maintain the claim of Henry V.'s baby son, Henry VI., to the 
French throne ; Joan of Arc defeats the English, but is captured 
and burned. Henry VI. loses France, goes mad, and is deposed. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Why were the Lan- 
castrian kings "constitutional kings"? Who was Wycliffe? 
When was Wales subdued by England? What were the battles 
of Cre'cy and Poitiers? 

Days of Henry IV. and V. : Call well, J. M., A Champion of the 
Faith; Elrington, II., In the Days of Prince Hal. 

Agincourt: Henty, G. A., At Agincourt. 

Henry VI. : Yonge, C. M., Two Penniless Princesses. 

Books for Teachers. Gairdner, J., The Houses of Lancaster 
and York; Bradley, A. G., Oiven Gbjndwr ; Church, A. J., Henry V. ; 
Lowell, F. C, Joan of Arc. 



CHAPTER XIX 
The Yorkist Kings, 1461-1485 

1. Richard, Duke of York, had begun to wage war 
against Henry VT. in 1455. Now, after six years' hght- 

The Wars ^^^^' ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^'"^^ become King Edward IV. 
of the Yet this was only the first part of the long 

°^^^' fight which the two houses of York and 

Lancaster were to wage against each other. It was not 
until 1485 that the struggle ended. This period of 
thirty j^ears of fighting and confusion is called the time 
of the Wars of the Hoses. The Yorkists wore a white 
rose, and the Lancastrians were said to have worn a red 
rose as their badge. 

2. Edward IV. was the first Yorkist king. He claimed 
the throne as the nearest heir of Edward III. ; but few 

Englishmen cared who was the rightful heir, 
iv^s^ciaim ^^^ ^^^^^ claim to rule was that he was a 
to the wiser man and better soldier than poor 

throne. jj^^^^,^ yj^ j^ ^^^ j^^p^^^ ^^^^^ j^^ ^^^^^ 

govern England more firmly than Henrj^ had done. 

3. Like Henry IV., Edward IV. found it harder to 
keep his throne than to win it. He had been greatly 

helped by Richard Neville, Earl of Warivick, 
quarrels the wealthiest of the English nobles. So 
y^lf^ . , powerful was Warwick that men called him 

vv 3.rwick 

the hing-maher. Warwick now showed that 
he could unmake as well as make kings. Like the 
Percies under Henry IV., he soon found that Edward 
did not listen to his advice. The result was that 
Edward and Warwick quarrelled. Eor the moment 
Edward got the upper hand, and in 1470 Warwick was 
forced to flee to France. 



The Yorkist Kings 119 

4. In a few months Warwick had his revenge. He 
made friends in France with Margaret of Anjou, and 
agreed to help lier to restore her husband to 

the throne, hi a few months he Avas back ^^^^y y ^• 

restored. 

in Eno'land. This time it was Edward's 

o 

turn to flee. Warwick now took Henry VI. out of the 
Tower, and restored him to the throne. Thus, for 
the second time, he earned his title of " king-maker." 
Indeed, he was now king in all but name, for Henry 
had lost his wits owing to his misfortunes, and Margaret 
had not yet returned from France. 

5. It Avas still easier to conquer than to hold Eng- 
land. In 1471 Edward IV. came back to recover his 
throne. On Easter Sunday he defeated and Edward iv 
slew Warwick in the battle of Barnet. wins back 
Margaret of Anjou soon afterwards arrived ^ ^ ^ ^°"^* 
in England. Edward won another victory over her at 
Teivheshury^ and sent her back to France. Through 
these two battles Edward IV. was restored to the 
throne. Poor Henry VI. was now again his prisoner, 
and was soon secretly put to death. For the next twelve 
years Edward IV. reigned in peace. He kept good order, 
and summoned parliaments very seldom. He died in 
1483, when still quite young. 

6. Edward IV. left two sons, Udtvard, Prince of 
Wales^ and Richard^ Duke of York. The elder of these 
now became King Edward V. He was too young to 
rule, so his uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Edward 
IV. 's younger brother, Avas made Protector. 
Gloucester Avas a clever but cruel and ambi- 
tious man. In a fcAV weeks he declared that his nephew 
had no right to the throne, and made himself king. The 
little Edward V. and his brother Richard, Duke of York, 
Avere shut up in the Tower, Avhere they Avere probably 
murdered by their uncle. At any rate no one heard 
anything more about them. 



I20 



The Yorkist Kings 



[1461- 



7. Thus Gloucester became King Richard III. But 
he did not gain much by his Avickedness. The York- 
ists hated him because he had treated his 
nephews so badly. The Lancastrians would 
not support him because he belonged to the. other side. 
The heir of the House of Lancaster was now Henry 




A Ship of the Fifteenth Century. 



Tudor, Earl of Richmond. Henry's mother, Lady Mar- 
garet Beaufort, was a descendant of John of Gaunt, 
though his father was the son of a poor Welsh gentle- 
man named Tudor. Richmond had long been in exile. 
In 1485 he landed at Milford Haven, in Wales, and re- 
ceived such support from his fellow-countrymen that he 
was able to make war against Richard. At the battle 
of Bosivorth in Leicestershire, Richmond Avas victorious 
over Richard, who lost both crown and life on that fatal 
day. Thus the House of Lancaster at last won back the 



-1485.] The Yorkist Kings 121 

throne. The Welshman, Henry Tudor, now became 
King Henry VII. 

The Chief Battles of the Wars of the Roses. 

1455. Battle of St. Albans. 

1460. Battle of Wakefield. 

1461. Battle of Towton. 

1471. Battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. 
1485. Battle of Bosworth. 

Genealogy of the Tudor Kings. 

Henry VII., 

m. Elizabeth of York. 

I 

Arthur, Henry VIII., Margaret, m. James IV. 

Prince of Wales. married of Scotland. 

(1) Catharine of Aragon. (2) Anne Boleyn. (3) Jane Seymour. 

Mary. Elizabeth. Edward VI. 

Summary. Edward IV. of York wins the throne from Henry 
VI. Edward falls out with the Earl of Warwick, and Warwick 
restores the throne to Henry VI. Edward defeats Warwick and 
gets back the throne. He dies, leaving the throne to Edward V., 
who with his brother, is made way with by Richard of Gloucester, 
who takes the title of Richard III. He is defeated and killed at 
Bosworth by Henry Tudor of the House of Lancaster. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Which house had the 
best claim to the throne — York or Lancaster? Who had first 
given the throne to the house of Lancaster and by what right? 
Can you see any reason why the Y'orkist kings did not summon 
parliaments? 

Barnet: Church, A. J., The Chantr// Priest of Barnet. 

Wars of the Roses : Edgar, J. G., The Wars of the Roses ; 
Green, E. E., In the Wars of the Roses; Holt, E. S., Red and 
White. 

Earl of Warwick : Lytton, Lord, The Last of the Barons. 

Books for Teachers. Gairdner, J., The Houses of Lancaster 
and York; Oman, C. W. C, Wartvick the Kingmaker; Thompson, 
E., The Wars of Lancaster and York. 



CHAPTER XX 

Lancastrian and Yorkist Period, 1399-1485 

1. The changes begun in the agricultural and indus- 
trial life of the latter part of the Angevin period con- 
tinued during this. Though war was going 

Changes. ^^^ almost constantly the lower classes of 
people were little affected. In the country districts en- 
closures continued, and manufacturing slowly increased 
in the towns. 

2. It was unfortunate for the people, but fortunate for 
the king, that so many nobles were killed in the Wars of 

the Roses. The Lancastrian kings, as they 
owed tlieir crowns to the will of the nobles 
expressed through parliament, did not have much power. 
The Yorkist kings got their crowns by force of arms, 
and as they owed nothing to parliament, they called it 
together but seldom. The great nobles^ who had given 
parliament its strength had been killed. So under the 
Yorkist kings the power of the king was almost ab- 
solute. 

3. Parliament was very strong under the Lancastrians 
and people began to value the privilege of voting for its 
„ ,. members. When representatives from the 

Parliament. . ^ n i r - 

shires or counties were nrst called tor m 

early times, the free landholders all had the right of vot- 
ing for representatives at the meeting of the freemen in 
the county court. Certain men, however, began to come 
to the meeting who had no right to vote, and in order to 
prevent their voting parliament passed a law in the reign 
of Henry VI. which restricted the voting to free land- 



Lancastrian and Yorkist Period 



123 



holders who had an income of forty shillings (equal in 
present value to about #200 in our money) a year from 
their land. Though this did not change the kind of 
men wlio were sent to parliament, it really made the 
number of men who could vote for representatives very 
small, because most of the land of England came to be 
owned by a few great families. This caused much 
trouble, as we shall see later. 

4. During Saxon and Norman times very little had 
been done for education. The people of all classes were 
very ignorant and superstitious. The clergy 

Avere the best educated of all, because they 
had to know how to read and write in order to fulfil 
their duties. After the twelfth century many schools 
arose, especially in connection with cathedrals and mon- 
asteries, where boys who were to become churchmen were 
taught. For those who Avished to carry on their studies 
further, universities arose like Oxford and Cambridge. 
For the man, however, who did not wish to be a church- 
man, there Avas little opportunity to become educated. 
William of Wykeham opened a school at Winchester in 
1393, and Henry VI. established a school at Eton^ but 
even these Avere mainly for the clergy. In fact every- 
body Avho had much education usually became a clergy- 
man. 

5. Down to about the middle of the fifteenth century 
all books had to be Avritten out and copied again and 
again after the same fashion if new copies . . 

, -, rpi . 11-1 Printing. 

AA^ere Avanted. I his Avas very laborious and 
expensive and did not spread learning very fast. About 
this time, hoAvever, a man in Germany named Gutenberg 
discovered the use of separate type and began to print 
books. This invention Avas brought over to England by 
William Caxton in 1477. Slowly and gradually printed 
books began to be circulated. Thus Avas education 
helped in another way. 



124 Lancastrian and Yorkist Period 

Summary. Increase of the power of tlie king and decrease of 
the power of parliament. The right to vote is restricted. The 
people at large are uneducated. The establishment of schools and 
the introduction of printing helps education. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Under what other 
house of kings besides the House of York had the power of parlia- 
ment been weak? What early king had promoted education? 
Does a man have to have property to vote in the United States? 

Books for Teachers. (See p. viii. under Feilden and Cheyney.) 



Part V. — The Tudor Kings. 1485-1608 

CHAPTER XXI 
Henry VII., 1485-1509 

1. Henry VII. was a cold and selfish man who never 
made himself loved. He was, however, far-seeing, care- 
ful, and thrifty, and wished to be king over ^^^ ^^.^^ ^^ 
the whole nation, and not merely the head of York and 
the House of Lancaster. He now married Lancaster. 
Elizabeth of York^ the daughter of Edward IV. Eliza- 
beth was by the death of her brothers the nearest heir 
to the Yorkist house, and Henry was, as we have seen, 
the representative of Lancaster. By this marriage the 
long disputes of the rival houses were at last settled, 
and the children of Henry VII. and Elizabeth could 
boast tliat they represented equally both York and 
Lancaster. 

2. Not even his wedding with the daughter of Edward 

IV. could make Henry VII. welcome to the Yorkists, 

who formed many plots against him. The . 

Yorkists had no longer any leaders. They ture of 

were, therefore, forced to follow leaders who J!^^^^" , 

Warbeck. 
pretended to be members of the house of 

York, when really they were nothing of the sort. The 

most important of these was Perkin Warbeck. This 

man was the son of a poor townsman of Tournai^ a city 

in the Netherlands. He now claimed to be Richard, 

Duke of York, the younger son of Edward IV., who 



126 Henry VII. [i485- 

was generally thought to have been murdered with his 
brother, Edward V., in the Tower of London. Warbeck 
played his part so well that many people seriously be- 
lieved that he really was the Duke of York. For many 
years he Avas a dangerous enemy to Henry. All English- 
men who disliked the new king supported Perkin, and, 
besides his friends in England, the impostor was helped 
by the French and the Scots. Henry Avisely made friends 
with the French and Scots, and persuaded them to give 
up supporting his enemy. Perkin did not, however, lose 
heart. He boldly landed in Cornwall in 1497. Now, 
the Cornishmen were grumbling at the severe taxes that 
the king forced them to pay, and many of them, there- 
fore, helped Perkin against the king. Perkin was not, 
however, strong enough to face the king's soldiers, and 
was soon taken prisoner and shut up in the Tower. A 
little later he was put to death for trying to escape. 
With his failure the Wars of the Roses came to an end, 
and no one any longer disputed Henry VII.'s claim to 
the throne. 

3. Henry tried to make himself more powerful by 
marrying his children to great foreign princes. The 

leading king in Europe in those days was 
marriages Ferdinand^ King of Spain. Henry married 
of Henry's hig eldest SOU, Arthur, Prince of Wales, to 

Ferdinand's daughter, Catharine of Aragon. 
Before long, however, Prince Arthur died, and his 
younger brother, Henri/, became Prince of Wales. King 
Henry set so much store on the Spanish marriage that 
he arranged for the wedding of Catharine to the new 
Prince of Wales, her former husband's brother. The 
king thus managed to keep the great riches which 
Catharine had brought from Spain. At the same time 
he retained the king, her father, as his friend. A second 
royal marriage was that of Henry's eldest daughter, 
Margaret, to James IV., King of Scots. The king 



-1509.] Henry VII. 127 

hoped that it would make the EngUsh and Scots, who 
were generally fighting each otlier, more friendly. At 
first little came of this hope, but a hundred years later 
the great-grandson of James and Margaret became king 
of both England and Scotland. 

4. Henry was fond of money, and his subjects grum- 
bled at the heavy taxes which he compelled them to pay. 
However, he used his wealth wisely, kept ^^^ ^^^^^ 
o-ood Older in the land, and made even the vii. in- 
greatest nobles obey the law. Till now the J^^^J^p^w.^^. 
nobles had done almost what they liked. 
The Wars of the Roses had been caused by their con- 
stant quarrelling with each other. But Henry set up a 
new court of justice, which was called the Star Chamber, 
because it sat in a room whose ceiling was painted with 
stars. The chief work of this court was to keep the 
nobles in order, and force them to obey the law. Henry 
succeeded so w^ell agahist the nobles that he became a 
.much more powerful king than those who had gone 
before him. 

5. Henry did what he could to encourage maritime 
enterprise. In his reign Cliristopher C^olumbus discov- 
ered America, and other navigators followed ^^^^.^.^^ 
on his tracks and sought to explore the new enterprise, 
world. Among them was John Cabot, wliom 
Henry VII. sent on a voyage of discovery to America 
in 1497. Though this exx)lorer discovered Labrador, the 
Enghsh made no attempt to take advantage of it, and 
the'^ Spaniards and French began to colonize America 
before them. 



Summary. Henry VI T. unites the claims of the Houses of 
York and Lancaster. ^ He puts down the impostor, Warbeck. He 
allies Spain and Scotland to England by marriages, increases the 
power of the king, and encourages maritime enterprise. 



w 



128 Henry VII. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Did Henry or Eliza- 
beth of York have the better claim to the throne ? What was the 
date of Columbus's discovery of America? Where was Cornwall? 

Days of Henry VII. : Cowper, Frank, The Captain of the 
Wight. 

Ireland in the time of Henry VII. : Green, E. E., The Heir of 
Hascomhe Hall. 

Books for Teachers. Moberly, C. E., The Early Tuclorsj 
Gairdner, J., Henry VII. 



CHAPTER XXII 
Henry VIII., 1509-1547 

1. Henry, Prince of Wales, now became Henry VIII. 
He did not have to fight for his throne, as his father had 
done, and all Englishmen agreed that he was 

their lawful kins^. He Avas therefore able to S^^^^^I^^t^^ 

^ Henry VIII. 

be bolder and more reckless than the cold- 
hearted Henry VII. He was very handsome, he dressed 
splendidly, and amused himself in a very magnificent 
fashion. He made his people love him by his hearty 
ways. Later on the young king grew hard and cruel. 
At last he became little better than a tyrant. With all 
his faults, however, he did a great work for England. 

2. Henry seemed to spend a great deal of his time on 
his amusements, but as he loved power better than any- 
thing else, he never neglected his duties as 

king. To carry out the many great schemes wolsey. 
that he had in his mind he needed slirewd 
helpers. At last he found a minister after his own heart 
in a young clergyman named Tkomas IVolsei/, who was the 
son of a merchant. Wolsey rose through the king's favor 
to the highest posts in Church and State. He became 
Archbishop of York, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic 
Church, and the legate or representative of the Pope in 
England. He was also Lord Chancellor and chief min- 
ister of the king. He grew so rich, and lived in such 
splendid fashion that he seemed grander than the great- 
est nobles. But, though proud to the nobles, he was 
always kind to the poor. He spent great sums of money 
in building schools and colleges. 



130 



Henry VIII. 



[1509- 




King Henry VIII. 
(From a Picture belonging to the Earl of "Warwick.) 



-1547. 



Henry VIII. 



131 



3. Wolsey took great pains to make England's power 
again felt abroad. During the time of liis ministry, 
Henry VIII. twice went to war against the 
French. The kingf did not win for himself ^°^^^y 

o restores 

much glory in those wars. Henry fought English 
the Scots also, and gained a famous victory abroad 
over his brother-in-law, James IV. of Scot- 
land. In 1513 the Scotch king invaded England. He 
hoped by that to help the French by giving the Eng- 




Cardinal Wolsey. 



lish two enemies to fight at once. James was, however, 
beaten and killed at the Battle of Flodden Field. For a 
long time after tliis Henry had no great trouble from 
the Scots. 



132 Henry VIII. [i509- 

4. Henry had married, as we have seen, Catharine of 
Aragon, the widow of his brother Arthur. The king 
The divorce ^^^w grew tired of her, and fell in love with 
of Catharine a lady named Anne Boleyn. He became 
ragon. ^^^^ eager to put away Queen Catharine 
and to marry Anne Boleyn. He found an excuse for 
this in pretending that his conscience made him uneasy 




Catharine of Aragon. 

at marrying his brother's widow. Such a marriage w^as 
against the law of the Church ; but Pope Julius H. had 
granted Henry what was called a dispensation^ by which 
he set aside the general law in this particular case. 
Now, however, Henry said that even the Pope had not 
power to do this. Accordingly he went to the new 
Pope, Clement VIL, and begged him to declare that 
his marriage with Catharine had never been lawful. 
Clement was very unwilling to fall in with the king's 



-1547.] Henry VIII. 133 

request, but he did not like to offend so powerful a kino- 
as Henry. He therefore appointed Wolsey and another 
cardinal to try the case in England, and decide whether the 
marriage had been lawful or not. Henry felt sure that 
Wolsey would decide that it had been contrary to the 
law of the Church. The Po[>e did not give Wolsey the 
chance to end the business. Before the case was finished 
Clement ordered the trial to be begun again at Rome. 

5. Henry was very angry Avith both the Pope and 
Wolsey. He could not touch the Pope, but Wolsey 
soon felt the force of the king's wrath. In 

1529 the Cardinal was driven from all his woigf °^ 
offices and sent to his archbishopric. Tlie 
next winter he Avas suddenly summoned to London to 
answer a charge of treason against the king. He died 
on the road, and thus escaped Henry's vengeance. 

6. Henry had now to get his marriage declared un- 
lawful by other means. He had till now been very 
friendly with the Popes, and had helped r^^ie 

them against their enemies. For many hun- Reforma- 
dreds of years all Europe had believed that *^°"' 
the Pope was the head of the Christian Church. But in 
1517 a German named Martin Luther had been preach- 
ing against the Pope's power, and bringing in many 
changes in religion. This was the beginning of what 
is called the Reformation^ which soon broke up Europe 
into different Churches. Luther and his followers were 
called Protestants^ because they protested against the 
Pope, while those Avho still followed the Pope Avere 
called Roman CatJiolics. The Protestants were noAV 
growing very numerous in northern Europe, and were 
giving the Pope a great deal of trouble. Hitherto 
Henry and England had been in favor of the Pope 
and against Luther. Now that the Pope Avould not do 
what Henry Avished, it Avas clear that there Avould soon 
be a quarrel betAveen them. 



134 



Henry VIII. 



[1509. 



7. Finding that Clement VII. was determined not to 
allow liim to pnt away Queen Catharine, Henry resolved 
to take the question away from the Pope 
altogether. He persuaded parliament to pass 
laws which said that the Pope had no power 
at all in England. It followed that the case 
of the queen should be tried, not in the Pope's 
court at Rome, but in the court of the Archbishop of 



Henry VIII 
abolishes 
the Pope's 
power in 
England. 




Martin Luther. 



Canterbury, the chief bishop of England. The arch- 
bishop was now Thomas Craiiiner, a timid man, Avho was 
quite certain to do anything that the king wished. Cran- 
mer soon declared Henry's marriage with Catharine un- 
lawful. Thereupon the king at once wedded Anne 



-1547.] Henry VIII. 135 

Boleyn. Soon after, parliament passed a law declaring 
that Henry was Supreme Head of the Church of England. 
This was called the Act of Sui^remacy. It was passed in 
1534, and was the last of the many laws that pnt an end 
to the Pope's authority in England. 

8. Henry was not content with getting Avhat he 
wanted. He told all Ins subjects that they must declare 
that Anne Boleyn was his lawful wife, and Execution of 
that he was "supreme head of the Church. Sir Thomas 
Those who refused to do this were to be put '^^^' 

to death as traitors. So fierce was Henry's will, and so 
much were his people afraid of him, that very few dared 
to risk their lives by setting up their opinion against the 
king's. A few brave men, however, ventured to with- 
stand the king's wishes. The most important of these 
was Sir Thomcis More^ a very learned and good man, and 
a famous lawyer, and writer of a book called Utopia. 
When Wolsey had been driven from the office of 
Chancellor, Henry had appointed More his successor. 
Now the new Lord Chancellor became so disgusted with 
the king's acts that he gave up office. Henry soon 
ordered him to say that he was in favor of Anne Boleyn 
and against the Pope. More refused to do tliis, and in 
consequence was condemned to death as a traitor. In 
1535 he was beheaded on Tower Hill, outside the Tower 
of London. His fate scared less bold men into obeying 
the fierce king. 

9. Henry soon aimed a new blow against the old 
Church. Since the days of Augustine a great many of 
the most pious and devoted of Englishmen r^^^ suppres- 
and Englishwomen had taken vows to give sion of the 
up the world for the sake of religion. They "^^^^steries. 
were called monks and nnns^ and the houses in Avhich 
they lived were called monasteries and nunneries. Within 
them they lived very self-denying lives. They were 
not alloAved to marry; they had nothing which they 



136 



Henry VIII. 



[1509- 



coiikl call their own, and they were bound to obey strictly 
the head of the house and the law of the community. 
They lived on the coarsest food, and spent most of their 
time in prayer and meditation. In the old days many of 
the best and lioliest men had become monks. Among- 
them were many of those who had taken the greatest 
places in English history. For instance, among the monks 






^/^>l1 



-^^^S- 




River Thames 



The Tower of London and Neighborhood about 1550. 



who had been Archbishops of Canterbury were Augustine 
himself, Dunstan, and Anselm. The great days of the 
monks, however, had long gone by. There were many 
careless and some wicked monks. Many monasteries 
were too rich, and the monks became idle and extrava- 
gant. The monks were, therefore, not so much liked by 
the people as they had been. Henry now thought it 
would be a fine way to make himself rich, if he put an 
end to the monasteries and seized their lands and money 
for himself. He called on Thomas Crcmuvell^ formerly 
in the employ of Wolsey, to help him in the matter. 
Cromwell was wily, selfish, and careless of everything 



-1547] Henry VIII. 137 

but himself and his master. He soon found plenty of 
excuses for putting an end to the monasteries. In 1536 
he began by abolishing the smaller ones. Within three 
years he had got rid of them all. Part of the monks' 
property went to the Church, but most of it went to the 
king. Henry used some of it to build ships and defend 
the country; but he gave a great deal away to his 
favorites and ministers, and after a few years was as 
poor as ever. 

10. Cromwell persuaded Henry to make other changes 
in religion, and it looked as if the king were gradually 
becoming a Protestant like Luther. One of 

the things now done was the making of a BiW?"^^^^^ 
new translation of the Bible from Latin into 
English. The king ordered that a copy of this English 
Bible should be bought for every parish church, where 
it was to lie open, that every one might read it. 

11. Cromwell, like Wolse}^ did not keep the king's 
favor forever. Before long Henry got tired of making 
changes, and blamed Cromwell for being too 

friendly to the Protestants. Since the king cieves and 
had put aside Catharine of Araeron he had ^^^ ^^^^ °f 

11 1 . TT . -1 ^ Cromwell. 

had several wives. He soon grew tn^ed of 
Anne Boleyn, and she was beheaded. He at once married 
a third wife, Jane Seymour. This lady was the mother 
of Henry's only son, the future Edward VL, but slie 
died soon after his birth. Cromwell then persuaded 
Henry to take as his fourth wife a German princess, 
Atme of Oleves, hoping thus to make friends with the 
German Protestants. Henry found that Anne was ugly 
and stupid, and put her away at once. His anger fell on 
Cromwell, who had made the matcli, and in 1540 he 
accused him of treason, and put him to death. 

12. Before long the king married a fifth Avife, — 
Catharine Howard., a cousin of Anne Boleyn's. She 
was soon beheaded like Anne, and Henry then found 



138 Henry VIII. [l509- 

a sixth Avife in a young widow named Catharine Parr. 
She was more prudent than the others, and managed to 

outlive her husband. Some of Henry's six 
Henry wives were not good women ; but the king 

Vill.'s reign, ^y.-^g j^^g^ly ^Q blame for the terrible things 
that happened within his family. As he grew older he 
became more and more savage. He no longer made great 
changes in the Church ; but he believed that he had found 
a '' middle way " between the Protestants and the Roman 
Catholics. He tried to make everybody profess to believe 
exactly what he believed. Those who would not follow 
in the king's footsteps were brutally punished. Henry 
burned Protestants to deatli, because he called them 
heretics^ or teachers of false doctrine. Roman Catholics 
he beheaded as traitors, because he said that those who 
did not believe in his supremacy over the Church could 
not be faithful to him. Cruel and merciless as he was, 
he kept England in good order and in peace. When he 
died, in 1547, such troubles arose that many were sorry 
that the fierce king was no longer alive to force all men 
into obedience to him. 

13. Henry VHI. left three children. The elder ones 
were two daughters, Mary^ whose mother was Catharine 

of Araofon, and Elizabeth the child of Anne 

Henry ° 

vni.'s Boleyn. The third was his only son, Edivard, 

children. Prince of Wales, the chikl of Jane Seymour. 
On his father's death this prince became Edward VI. 



Summary. Henry VIII. seeks a divorce from his wife and 
disgraces Wolsey becanse the latter does not support hira. Henry 
sets up a separate church in England becanse the Pope refuses a 
divorce. He executes More for refusing to recognize him as head 
of the Church. He suppresses the monasteries, puts the English 
Bible into use, and causes the death of his minister Thomas 
Cromwell. 



-1547.] Henry VIII. 139 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. What does the word 
♦'Reformation" mean? AVhen were monasteries first established 
in England? Was this the first translation of the Bible into 
English ? 

Destruction of the monasteries: Shipley, M. E., Like a Rasen 
Fiddler. 

Resistance to the Destruction of the Monasteries : Gilliat, E., 
Dorothy Dymoke. 

Last Days of Henry VIII. : Holt, E. S., Lettice Eden. 

Times of Henry VIII. : Yonge, C. M., The Armourer's 
Prentices. 

Books for Teachers. Moberly, C. E., The Early Tudors ; 
Creighton, M., Cardinal Wolsey. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
Edward VI., i547-i553 ; and Mary, 1553-1558 

1. Edivard VI. was a boy ten years old, not old enough 
to reign for himself. His uncle, Edivard Seymour., Duke 
Somerset and ^f >^'^^^^^S6'^, his mother's brother, was there- 
the English fore made Lord Protector. He was to rule 

rayer- 00 . ^^^ j^^^ nephew's behalf. Somerset was a 
friend of the Reformation. He began once more to 
make changes in the Church. The most important of 
these was the great change which he made in the ser- 
vices. Down to this time all the prayers said in church 
were in Latin. The Reformers, or Protestants, believed 
that the prayers should be said in English, because the 
people could always understand their mother tongue, 
and only educated men could understand Latin. Somer- 
set strongly held this view, and Archbishop Cranmer, 
who agreed with Somerset, set to work to turn the 
service-books into English, and to alter them so as to 
suit the new notions about religion. In 1549 he had 
done his task, and parliament passed a law that hence- 
forth every church should use the new English service- 
book, which was called the Booh of Common Prayer. 

2. Somerset meant to do what he thought right, but 
many of the ministers were selfish men, whose only 

aim was to make themselves rich. They 
land drives ' governed England badly, and neither Som- 
Somerset ersct nor Cranmer was strong enough to 

rom p w . ]jggp ^]^gi^^ ii^ order. At last, in 1549, the 
people rose in rebellion. Somerset was too weak to put 
the rebels down, and was therefore driven from power. 



Edward VI. and Mary 141 

In his place John Dudley^ Duke of Nortlmmherland^ be- 
came ruler of England. He was a much worse man 
than Somerset, but he was more resolute and strong- 
minded, and therefore seemed better able to rule over 
the Englisli. However, he was so selhsh that he thought 
a great deal more about himself and his family than 
about the king or the country. He pretended to be a 
very earnest Protestant, and made fui'ther changes in 
religion. Before long he put Somerset to death. 

3. Edward VI. was a thoughtful and serious boy, 
and an eager Protestant. His health was poor, and he 
knew that he had not long; to live. It t>, , ,, , 

o 1 he death of 

troubled him greatly that his elder sister, Edward VI., 
:\hiry, would be Queen of England after his \T^^^lZlly 
death. Mary, like her mother, was no friend Jane Grey 
of the new religion, and Edward feared that ^"^^"• 
after he was gone she would put an end to Prot- 
estantism. Northumberland also was afraid that his 
power would end with the king's death. He persuaded 
Edward to put aside botli his sisters and draw up a 
will in which he declared that his cousin, Lady Jane 
Grey^ should be the next queen of England. North- 
umberland's real reason for this was that the Lady 
Jane was married to one of his sons, the Lord Cruildford 
Dudley. But no one wished that Northumberland 
should go on ruling through his daughter-in-law, and 
every one believed that the daughters of Henrj^ VHI. had 
a better right to be queens than Jane, wdio was the 
granddaughter of Henry's sister. When Edward died 
in 1553, Northumberland tried to make Lady Jane queen, 
but even the Protestants would not all support him. 
Lady Jane was a good and pious girl, and worthy of a 
better fate. She was the innocent sufferer from North- 
umberland's greediness. She only reigned ten days. 

4. Mary^ Edward's elder sister, then became queen, 
and after the cruel fashion of the time, she put Northum- 



142 Edward VI. and Mary [1647- 

berland, the Lady Jane, and her husband to death. 
The Duke deserved his fate ; but we cannot but feel 
Mary Tudor ^oiTj for the innocent boy and girl who per- 
becomes ished through his ambition. Mary was a true 
queen. daughter of Catharine of Aragon, and hated 

the changes in religion that her father and brother had 
brought about. She now drove away the Protestant 
clergy or put them in prison. Before long she got rid 
of the Book of Common Prayer and brought back the 
Latin services. Not contented with that, she persuaded 
parliament to agree to recognize the power of the Pope. 
Thus the old state of the Church was restored as 
regards everything except the monasteries. The nobles 
had got most of the monks' lands. They were so 
determined not to give them up that Mary did not 
venture to go against their wishes. 

5. Thus things were once more much as they had 
been before Henry VIII. put away Mary's mother. 

It was not only in religion that Mary went 
marriage. back to the old ways. She made friends 

with Spain, her mother's country, and mar- 
ried her cousin, Philip 11.^ King of Spain, the most 
powerful king in Europe, and a leading supporter of 
the Pope. To please her husband, Mary went to war 
against the French. In the course of this war the 
French conquered Calais, which had belonged to the 
English since the days of Edward III. Mary was so 
grieved at losing Calais that she said, " When I die you 
will find Calais written upon my heart." There were 
many other tilings to make her miserable. Philip of 
Spain treated her very unkindly, and she began to 
see that the Protestants were still strong, despite all her 
efforts to put them down. 

6. Nowadays everybody is allowed to believe what 
he likes, and worship God after his own fashion. This 
was not the case, however, in early days, and in 



-1558.] Edward VI. and Mary 143 

Mary's reign everybody was sure that it was the duty 
of the king or queen to put down by force all religions 
with which they disagreed. Henry VIII. j^j^^.^ 
had burned Protestants and beheaded Ro- and the 
man CathoUcs. Even Edward VI. had put 
some men to death for their faith. Mary now went on 
the same course. She was very earnest, and believed 




Thomas Cranmer. 

that she was doing God's work in stamping out Protes- 
tantism. Among her victims was Archbishop Cranmer, 
whom she particularly hated, because he had declared 
that her mother's marriage to Henry VIII. was not 
valid. Cranmer, weak as ever almost to the last, tried 
to save his life by giving up his faith. But Mary was 
determined to put him to death. At the last moment 



144 Edward VI. and Mary [l558. 

Cranmer repented his weakness, and died declaring his 
belief in the Protestant religion. 

7. Mary's last years were made wretched by the 
feeling that, despite all that she had done, her sister 

Elizabeth would undo all her work as soon 
y^ars.^^^^* as she was dead. Cruel as she was against 

the Protestants, Mary was a well-meaning 
and upright woman, and her sad life should make lis 
pity rather than blame her. 

Summary. While Edward VI. is young the regents Somer- 
set and Northuniberhind introduce many reforms in the new 
Church. On Edward VI.'s death Lady Jane Grey attempts to get 
the throne but is captured and put to death by Mary, who is made 
queen. She marries Philip 11. of Spain and persecutes the Prot- 
estants. She loses Calais. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Were there any queens 
of England before Mary ? Does the eldest child succeed to the 
throne in England ? Was Mary to be blamed for cruelty any more 
than Henry VII L? 

Edward VI. : Clemens, S. L., The Prince and the Pauper. 

Elizabeth and Mary : Mathew, Frank, The Royal Sisters. 

Persecutions by Mary: Weyman, S. J., The Story of Francis 
Cludde. 

Books for Teachers. Moberly, C. E., The Early Tudors, 
Creighton, M. The Tudors and the Reformation. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
Elizabeth, 1558-1603 

1. FAizaheth^ the new queen, was good-looking, hard- 
working, and well educated. She was a true daughter 

of Henry VHL, and like her father in many ^,. ^ ^ 
,1 111 Elizabeth, 

ways, thougii never so cruel as he became, her minis- 
She had the same hearty manners that had Y^^ ^J}^ 

, , . lavontes. 

made Henry popular. She was very vain 
and selfish, and loved to be flattered. Mean in most 
things, she never cared how much money she wasted in 
amusing herself, or in buying fine dresses, or in making 
presents to her favorites. But she was wise in great 
things, and followed the advice of wise ministers. 
Elizabeth loved power and ruling more than anything 
else in the world. She made up her mind that she 
would never marry, because she would not share her 
throne even with a husband. 

2. Elizabeth's first business Avas to settle the future 
of the Church. She once more put an end to the power 
of the Pope in England, and got rid of the r^^^ church 
Latin services. She brought back the Eng- finally 

lish Prayer-book of Edward VI., and drove '"^fo^^^^^- 
from their bishoprics all those bishops who remained 
faithful to the teaching of Queen Mary's days. She 
was very careful not to alter things too much, and liked 
the ways of her father better than those of her brother. 

3. Before long the thorough-going Protestants com- 
plained that the queen did not go far enough for them. 
They asked for further changes in the Church, and dis- 
liked many of the forms and ceremonies that the queen 

10 



146 Elizabeth [l558- 

still kept up. They thought that it was not right that 
clergymen should wear white surplices when reading 
Elizabeth pi'^yers in church, and some of them did not 
and the believe in the rule of the Church by bishops. 

Puritans. These extreme men were called Puritans, 
because they wished for greater purity in the Church. 

4. Though the Puritans gave Elizabeth a great deal 
of trouble, they agreed with her in opposing the Roman 

Catholics. Elizabeth put many of the Puri- 
and the tans iuto prisou and took away the " livings " 

Roman from the Puritan clergy. She was much 

more stern to the Roman Catholics, who 
still wished to keep up the power of the Pope. She 
expected everybody to attend cliurch and listen to the 
Book of Common Prayer. If they refused, she made 
them pay large sums of money to her. The friends of 
the Pope were afraid lest her stern policy should drive 
out their way of thinking altogether from England. 
After a few years they began to send Roman Catholic 
missionary clergymen to England to keep up the love 
for the old doctrines. Nor was this all. The Pope de- 
clared that Elizabeth had no right to be queen of Eng- 
land. This made it hard for a man to be both a good 
Roman Catholic and a loyal subject of Elizabeth. It 
gave Elizabeth a good excuse for going back to the old 
policy of Henry VIII., who had put Roman Catholics to 
death as traitors. She began to persecute Roman Cath- 
olics for their religion as Mary her sister had persecuted 
Protestants for theirs. 

5. Elizabeth had a great deal of trouble abroad. She 
was afraid both of France and Spain. At first the 

King of France was her most dangerous 
and the Ref- enemy. He had married Mary Stuart, Queen 
ormation in qf Scots, the granddaughter of Margaret 

Tudor and King James IV. Mary Stuart 
had been Queen of Scotland ever since she was a baby. 



-1603.] Elizabeth 147 

She had been brought up m France, and was more of a 
Frenchwoman than a Scot. She was beautiful and 




Queen Elizabeth. 



talented, but ambitious and unscrupulous. As long as 
she was Queen of France she was a real danger to 



148 Elizabeth [l558- 

Elizabeth. Her husband soon died, and then she went 
back to Scotland. She was, however, a Roman Catholic, 
and the Scots had lately become Protestants. Now, the 
Scotch Protestants Avere not Protestants like Queen 
Elizabeth. They were strong Puritans, who got rid of 
all the old ceremonies and would not allow bishops to 
rule their Church. The Scotch Protestant Church be- 
came what is called Presbyterian^ — that is to say, it had 
no bishops, but was governed by little meetings of 
ministers, who were called jjreshf/ters, or elders. Natu- 
rally, Mary did not get on well with the Presbyterians. 

6. The persecuted English Catholics would have been 
glad to get rid of Elizabeth and make Mary their queen. 

There were more Catholics in England than 
in ^Scotland, in Scotland, so that she had a better chance 

in England tlian in Scotland. The Scotch 
Protestants were too much afraid of Mary to allow her 
to rule over them as she pleased. Before long she fell 
into serious trouble in her own country. She had 
married as her second husband a cousin of hers, Loi^d 
Barnley. Parnley was a very foolish and jealous man, 
and Mary soon began to hate him. After a time Darn- 
ley was murdered, and everybody in Scotland believed 
that his wife had set his murderers to work. The Scots 
rose in revolt against Mary, and shut her up in a lonely 
castle, and made her baby son, James, King James VI. in 
her place. Before long Mary escaped from her prison 
and strove to win back her throne. She was, however, 
defeated in battle, and ran away to England. 

7. Mary now asked Elizabeth for help. Instead of 
giving her assistance, Elizabeth put her in captivity. 

Mary in her prison was even more formidable 
h! Engllnd!^ to Elizabeth than she had been when she 

was Queen of Erance and Scotland. The 
Catholics looked upon her as the Queen of England, 
and rose in revolt to raise her to the throne. After 



.] Elizabeth 149 

Elizabeth had put down their rebellion, they continued 
to make conspiracies in Mary's favor. Elizabeth's 
ministers believed that as long as Mary lived Elizabeth 
would never be safe. They at last accused Mary of 
having a sliare in an attempt to murder Elizabeth, and 
brought her up for trial at Fotheringay Castle, in North- 
hamptonshire. In 1587 Mary Avas condemned and be- 
headed. 

8. With ]\Iary's death Elizabeth's worst dangers 
passed awa}^ Mary's son, James W. of Scotland, was 
a Protestant, and a good friend of Elizabeth. 
Protestant Scotland^ liad given up the old |"of land ^"""^ 
alliance between Scotland and Erance, since become 
France still remained a Catholic country, and f^j^n^dly. 
the Scots hated Catholics above all others. 

So, for the first time since the reign of Edward I., Eng- 
land and Scotland were becoming really friendly. This 
was the more important, since James VI. was the next 
heir to the Englisli throne after Elizabeth's death. 

9. In her early years Elizabeth kept on fairlj^ good 
terms with her brother-in-law, Philip II. of Spain. 
Philip, as a Catholic, hated Elizabeth's re- Elizabeth 
ligion, but he wanted Elizabeth's support and Philip 
against the French. England and Spain, °^ Spain, 
however, soon began to quarrel with each other. To 
begin with, the English were Protestants, and tlie Span- 
iards Roman Catholics, and in those days religious feel- 
ing ran so high that it seemed natural that Protestants 
and Catholics should always be fighting with each other. 
Now, there was one country ruled by Philip of Spain 
where there were a great many Protestants. This was 
the Netherlands, and especially that part of the northern 
Netherlands called Holland. I^liilip cruelly persecuted 
the Protestants of Holland, and at last the Dutch, as the 
people of the Netherlands are called, rose in revolt 
against him. The English helped the Dutch to win 



15° 



Elizabeth 



1558- 



their independence from King Philip. This made 
Philip very angry, and he tried to pay them back by 
helping all the conspiracies in favor of Mary Stuart. 
He was the more angry as he was unable to put down 

the Dutch. They set up a free 
commonwealth called the Uni- 
ted Netherlands^ which took in 
all the north of that country. 
Only the southern Nether- 
lands, which were Catholic, re- 
mained under Philip's rule. 

10. Englishmen and Span- 
iards soon had other things 
The dis- ^^ quarrel about 
covery of bcsidcs religion. 

America. ^^ j^.^^^ ^^^^^ j^^^^ 

in the days of Henry VII., 
ChrlstopJier Columbus had dis- 




Walker A C'uckL-r dlse 

Revolted Provinces shaded thus:- ^M 

Spanish Netherlands „ „ El cOVCrcd tllC UCW WOrld Called 



Map to illustrate the Revolt 
of the Spanish Netherlands. 



America. Though Columbus 
was an Italian, he was in the 
service of King Ferdinand of 
Spain, and his discovery gave the Spaniards the first 
chance of getting America for themselves. By the time 
of Philip II. the Spaniards had enormous possessions in 
America. In Spanish America there were many rich 
silver-mines, and every year great fleets of Spanish 
ships sailed from America laden with the treasures of 
her mines. 

11. Before the days of Elizabeth few Englishmen 
were fond of the sea, but the stories of the wonderful 
discoveries made in remote regions of the 
English^and globe now made them long to travel and win 
Spanish glory and profit. Thus English seamen began 

to be seen in distant parts of the world, but 
wherever they went they found the Spaniards were 



-1603.1 Elizabeth 



^51 



already in possession. Tliey became angry Avlien they 
discovered that the Spaniards would not allow them to 
trade peacefully with their colonies. They soon saw 
that the Spanish colonies were too large to be easily pro- 
tected, and that it was not a very difficult thing to rob 
the Spaniards. Before long no part of the Spanish Em- 
pire was safe from the English sailors. Most of them 
were zealous Protestants, and believed that they were 
helping religion by plundering the Catholic Spaniards. 

12. The most famous of tliese English seamen was 
Sir Francis Drake. Between 1577 and 1580 he sailed 
round the world, coming back safely to Drake's 
England with his ship laden with Span- voyage round 
ish plunder. He was the first Englishman ^^^ '^°'^'^- 

to make a voyage round the Avorld. Another bold sea- 
man, Sir Martin Frobisher, tried to discover a northwest 
passage to India by sailing to the north of North America. 

13. All these things made the English and Spanish 
bitter foes to each other. At last Philip II. resolved to 
send out a great fleet with which he might ^j^^ invin- 
conquer England and be revenged on the cible Armada 
people who had done him so much mischief. '^^^^^^^^• 
This fleet was so large and so finely fitted out that the 
Spaniards called it the Invincible Armada, that is, the 
fleet which could not be conquered. In the summer of 
1588 the Armada appeared in the English Channel. 
The English had beaten the Spaniards so often before 
that they were not afraid of them now. Elizabeth made 
Lord Hoivard of Effingham the admiral of her fleet, and 
under him were Drake, Frobisher, and other old sailors 
of great experience who were lifelong enemies of the 
Spaniards. The English fleet remained at Plymouth 
until the Spaniards had sailed past that port on their 
way up the Channel. Then the Englisli ships came out 
of harbor and closely pursued the Spanish fleet. The 
English ships were smaller than the Spanish, but were 



152 



Elizabeth 



[1558- 



better managed, and could sail much more quickly. The 
English were therefore able to attack the Spaniards when 
they liked, and could always sail away from them if 
they found tliem too strong to fight. In this way they 
worried the Spaniards so much that they gradually lost 
all heart. Then the English fleet fell upon the Spaniards 
and defeated them in a pitched battle in the Straits of 




A War Ship of the Sixteenth Century. 

Dover. Many of the Spanish ships were destroyed, and 
the rest had to make their way homeward by sailing 
round the north coast of Scotland. Terrible storms 
spread further havoc among the fugitive Spanish ships, 
and few reached home in safety. 

-14. Elizabeth's victory over the Armada made her 
very famous over all Europe. She remained at war 
^,. ^ ^, Avith Spain for the rest of her life, and rained 

Ehzabeth's J- . . i o • i 

victories over many other victories over the Spaniards. 
Spain. Erom those days onward Englishmen have 

remained foremost as sailors and discoverers. 



-1603.] 



Elizabeth 



153 



15. In Elizabeth's reign, Ireland was first really con- 
quered by England. Since Henry II.'s days the King of 
England liad had some little power in Ireland. 
Lque''st°of But only the district round Dublin, the Irish 
^^^^^"'^- capital, was really ruled by the English kings. 

The rest of Ireland was governed by a large number of 




SPAIN 

jLisbon 



The Route of the Spanish Armada. 

chieftains, each of whom could do almost as he liked 
Henry VIII. was the first king who resolved he would 
make himself real master of all Ireland. Not satisfied 
with the title of Lord of Ireland, borne by every knig 
since Henry II., he called himself King of Ireland, The 
work that Henry VIII. had begun had to be done over 
ao-ain by his vounger daughter. Elizabeth, however, 
had great difficulties to meet. The Irish remained strong 



154 



Elizabeth 



[1568- 




-1603.] Elizabeth 155 

Roman Catholics, and called on Philip of Spain to help 
them. They rose in three separate rebellions, and each 
of these gave the queen a great deal of trouble. At last, 
at the end of the old queen's life, Ireland was thoroughly 
subdued. The Irish, however, bitterly hated the Eng- 
lish, and the English too often despised the Irish, and 
treated them cruelly. 




William Shakespeare. 

(From the Bust at Stratford-on-Avon. ) 



16. The latter part of the reign of Elizabeth is marked 
by many important events. The Spaniaixls were beaten ; 
Ireland was conquered ; the voyages of Elizabeth's sea- 
men were adding to trade, and increasing the know- 
ledge of the remotest parts of the world. England was 
prosperous, happy, and contented. The rich lived more 



156 Elizabeth [l558- 

luxuriously and elegantly, and the poor had better wages, 
and became more comfortable. The most wonderful 
thing of all was the large number and fine 
of the^nd of quality of the poems, books, and plays which 
Elizabeth's were written by Englishmen. It was the 
^^^^"' age of William Shakespeare^ the greatest of 

all writers of plays, in whose dramas and poems we can 
still read all the energy, vigor, and movement of this 
most famous reign. In her reign Edmund Spenser wrote 
his Faerie Queene and Sir Francis Bacon some of his 
famous Essays. It was now that Englishmen began to 
be more restless, active, enterprising, curious, and eager 
than they had ever been before. For this reason we are 
often told that Modern Times really begin with the age 
of the great queen. 

Genealogy of the House of Stuart. 

Walter, Steward of Scotland, m. Margaret, daughter of Robert Bruce. 

Robert II., first Stewart or Stuart, 
Henry VII. Kiug of Scots, and 

I ancestor of 

Margaret Tudor, m. James IV., King of Scots. 

James V. 
Kiug of Scots. 

Mary Queen of Scots, 
m. Lord Darnley. 

James VI. of Scotland 
and I. of England. 

Charles I. 
I 



I I I 

Charles II. Mary. James II. 



I I ! 

William III., m. Mary. Anne. James, the 

Old Pretender. 

I 
Charles Edward, 
the Young Pretender. 



1603. 



Elizabeth 



157 



Summary. Elizabeth reforms the Church and persecutes both 
Puritans and CathoHcs. She puts Mary Queen of Scots to death 
as a dangerous rival. She supports the Netherlands against Spain. 
Drake voyages round the world. The luvincible Armada is de- 
feated. Ireland is conquered. Elizabeth's reign ends gloriously. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Whose daughter was 
Elizabeth? AVhy could not P^lizabeth be queen and also believe in 
Roman Catholicism? AVhat does the word "armada" mean? 

Ireland in Elizabeth's Time : Reed, T. B., Sir Ludar. 

Mary, Queen of Scots : Yonge, C. M., Unknown to History. 

Wars of Elizabeth: Tillotson, J., Storiesi of the Wars. 

Drake : Henty, G. A., Under Drake's FUuj. 

Elizabeth: Scott, Sir Walter, Kenilwortli ; Tappan, E. M., In 
the Days of Queen Elizabeth. 

Explorers : Kingsley, C, Westward Ho ! 

Netherlands: Pollard, E. F., A Gentleman of England ; Henty, 
G. A., By Enyland's Aid. 

Armada: Holt, E. S., Clare Avery. 

Sea Fights : Leighton, R., The Golden Galleon. 

Books for Teachers. Creighton, M., Age of Elizabeth: Rait, 
R. S., Mary, Queen of Scots :^Bei^s\y, E. S., Elizabeth; Froude, 
J. A., English Seamen; Corbett, J., Drake. 



^^:^^, 




Milled Half-sovereign of Elizabeth (1561-1572). 



CHAPTER XXV 
The Tudor Period, 1485-1603 

1. Under the Tudors England lost its mediaeval 
character, feudalism practically became extinct, and the 

king's power became absolute. In the coun- 
anges. ^^^ districts enclosures still continued, while 
in commerce, manufactures, and education great progress 
was made. 

2. Feudalism received its death blow in the Wars of 
the Roses, when so many of the great barons were killed. 

As early as the time of Henry H. the king 
sm. ^^^^ tried to come into direct contact with 
all his subjects and to be independent of the support of 
the feudal lords. As time went on this was gradually 
accomplished. Scutage, circuit courts, and the decay of 
the manor and of villeinage helped to bring it about. 
Even before the Wars of the Roses the feudal system was 
rather thoroughly broken, and those wars destroyed it. 
The lands of the dead barons went back to the king and 
he gave them out to a new nobility. The new nobles 
were not great warriors, but rich men or tried officials 
who supported the king in parliament. Many of the 
vexatious dues of the feudal system still remained after 
this period, but they were soon abolished. 

3. Nominally at the opening of the Tudor period the 
parliament had many rights which the king should 

respect. But parliament was weak and was 
^arifame'Lt. filled with supporters of the king. The 

king proceeded to make laws and levy taxes 
in a manner which he had not dared to do before. Par- 



-1603.1 The Tudor Period 



159 



liament even went so far as to declare, in 1539, that 
the king's prochimations had the force of law. Under 
the circumstances it is not surprising that the Tudors 
called parliament together very seldom. 

4. Under the Tudors two new and very tyrannical 
courts were established. One, the Court of Star Chaynher^ 
has already been mentioned. It tried crimes 

and almost any other case the king wished J"^*^^^- 
to bring before it. Terrible punislnnents were inflicted 
by it, but at first it did good service in making rich 
nobles obey the law. After the Keformation there arose 
under Elizabeth another court — called the Court of 
High Commission — whicli dealt with church cases and 
became very tyrannical. 

5. Agriculture was unprofitable during almost the 
whole of this period. Tliis was due to many causes. 
In manv cases the soil had been worked out 

1 " rni • 1 Agriculture, 

and gave very poor crops. I he manorial 

system and villeinage had largely died out. Men who 

were farmers now were usually freemen (called yeomen), 

renting small farms, or were free agricultural laborers 

working on the farms of others. Small farms would not 

pay, and were gradually being taken up by the large 

landowners. Owners of large farms let them out for 

tillage or for sheep-farming. For the latter purpose 

more and more enclosures took place. As only a few 

shepherds were necessary to tend the sheep, many agii- 

cultural laborers and small tenants were thrown out of 

employment. In some places the misery was so great 

that there were risings of the farmers. 

6. During this period England sent less and less raw 
wool abroad, but manufactured it into cloth at home. On 
account of the troublesome regulations of the 
craft-gilds of the large towns the manufac- " "^*^^' 
ture of cloth was more and more transferred to small 
villages. In many cases a weaver worked in his own 



i6o 



The Tudor Period 



[1485- 



Commerce. 



home and at his own loom. INIore frequently some master 
clothier with plenty of money employed various weavers 
and apprentices to work for him at his home or at theirs. 
In this manner cloth, and not raw wool, was becoming 
the great article of export from Eng- 
land. 

7. Internal trade was carried on as 
before at markets and fairs. The dis- 
coveries and adventures of 
Drake led the English to 

engage in foreign trade in their own 
ships. The Venetian fleet ceased to 
come to Engf-land and Elizabeth abol- 
ished the Steelyard. This gave tlie 
English a better chance to carry tlieir 
goods to foreign lands. 

8. Colet and Erasmus, two great 
scholars of the time of Henry VII., 

were much interested in 

promoting education in Eng- 
land. Colet founded St. Paul's School 
in London. Henry VIII. and Edward 
VI. established schools which were in a 
way to take the place of the old monas- 
tery schools. They did not establish 
enough of them to do this, but those 
they did establish were very important. They were im- 
portant because they did not train for the Church alone, 
but also gave an education to those who were not going 
to become Churchmen. 

9. Though gunpowder had been known since the time 
of the Hundred Years' War, no arms had been invented 

to make its use very effective in war. Now, 

however, firearms began to displace rapidly 

the older weapons of the Middle Ages. They were an 

important factor in the decay of feudalism and chivalry. 



Education. 




i^m 



Armor as worn diiinng 
Elizabeth's reign, 
even though firearms 
had come into use. 



-1603.] The Tudor Period i6t 

Firearms put a weak man on an equality with a strong 
man, and made infantry as strong as cavalry. 

Summary. The feudal nobility dies out and the king becomes 
supreme over parliament. Justice is harshly administered. Agri- 
culture declines, but manufactures and commerce grow. Better 
schools and better firearms are introduced. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. What was scutage ; 
circuit courts; the feudal system? Explain tlie name: Court of 
Star Chamber. Find out as much as you can about a loom and 
about weaving. What had become of the monastery schools? 

Books for Teachers. (See ' Suggestions,' p. viii. — Feilden 
and Cheyney.) Montague, F. C, The Elements of English Consti- 
tutional History. 



11 



Part VI. — The Stuart Kings. 1603-1714 

CHAPTER XXVI 
James I., 1603-1625 

1. For more than a hundred years the Welsh House 
of Tudor had ruled England. Now, on Elizabeth's death, 

was to come the turn of the Scottish House 
comes king" ^f Stuart, This famous family had now been 
of Great reigning in Scotland since the days of Ed- 
ward III. Its ancestor, the Steward of Scot- 
land, married a daughter of Robert Bruce, and their son 
thus became King of Scots. In 1603 the Steward's de- 
scendant, James VI. of Scotland, became James I. of 
England. James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, 
and the great-great-grandson of Henry VH. Thus, after 
a hundred years, the good results which Henry VH. had 
hoped for from the marriage of his daughter Margaret 
with James IV. of Scotland were at last brought about. 
For hundreds of years the English and Scots had always 
been quarrelling with each other. Now they were 
brought together peaceably under the rule of a single 
king. James was proud of being the king of the 
two countries. Not content with being styled King 
of England and Scotland, he described himself King of 
Great Britain. Before very long people born in either 
England or Scotland called themselves Britons^ though 
this was really the old name of the Welsh. 

2, James was king of Ireland as well as of Great 
Britain. At the time he came to the English throne 



-1625.] 



James I. 



163 



the slow conquest of Ireland by the English had just 
been finished. But the Irish were mostly Roman Cath- 
oUcs, and hated the English. James thought 
it would be a good plan to settle in Ireland ^"^ Iceland, 
a large number of English and Scotch Protestants who 
would be loyal to him. He drove the native Irish from 




The shaded part shows the Protestant districts 
in Ireland, which resulted from James I's. 
Plantations. 



their lands in eastern Ulster, and gave them to English- 
men and Scotchmen. This was called the Plantation of 

Ulster. The Plantation of Ulster is tlie reason why 
the northeast corner of Ireland is still mainly Protes- 
tant and English. 

^ 3. Mindful of the fact that he ruled over Great Brit- 
am and Ireland, James I. adopted a new style of royal 



164 



James I. 



Beginnings 
of the 
Colonial 
and trading 
Empire. 



arms. Since Edward III. had claimed the French crown 

the 3'oyal arms of England had consisted of the three 

lions of England and the three lilies of 

The new France. To these James I. now added the 

royal arms. c -i i ^ 

rampant lion 01 Scotland and the harp of 

Ireland. These arms continned to be borne by English 
kings until about a hundred years ago, when the un- 
meaning French lilies were at last given up. 

4. Under James I. the English Colonial Empire began. 
The sailors and explorers of Elizabeth's reign had shown 
the way to the fresh and untilled lands of 
North America. Soon after James became 
king, the first successful English colonies 
were planted in the new world. The first 
of these to be established was called Vir- 
ginia. It took its name from Queen Elizabeth, the vir- 
gin queen. During her reign Sir Walter Raleigh had 

made unsuccessful attempts 
to have it colonized. The 
first permanent settlement, 
however, was made in 1607, 
after Raleigh's disgrace and 
imprisonment. A little later 
other colonies were set up 
in the colder lands that lay 
far north of Virginia. This 
district was called New Eng- 
land^ and most of those who 
settled there were Puritans. 
Under the leadership of such 
men as John Carver and John 
Winthrop they left their 
homes in the old England because James, like Elizabeth, 
would not let them worship God after their own fashion. 
They were very steady, hard-working, and thrifty men, 
and were just the right sort to inhabit a new land. Before 




Royal Arms borne by James I. and 
succeeding Stuart Sovereigns. 



-1625.] 



James I. 



165 



long both New England and Virginia became very pros- 
perous, and other colonies Avere added to them. These 
were the lands which have since become the United 
States of America. English traders now began to take 
ship with their goods to the distant regions of the East, 
and particularly to India. A company of merchants 
trading to India was established at the end of Elizabeth's 





N'€w York 

T L A N T I G 



OCEAN 



The New England Colonies, Virginia, New York, and Carolina. 

reign. This was called the East India Comipany., and 
it soon began to be very prosperous. Other companies, 
such as the London Company and the Plymouth Comimny., 
were organized to develop respectively Virginia and 
New England. All these changes made the England 
tliat James I. ruled over very much like modern Eng- 
land. Henceforth British history is not the history of 
one or two little islands. We have to tell of the for- 
tunes of Englishmen all over the world. 



i66 James I. [l603- 

5. At this same time great changes were beginning in 
England itself, and especially in the way in which Eng- 
land was ruled. All the Tudor kings had 

quarrel with governed England much as they liked, and 
their \y^^ almost made themselves despots. The 

lamen . g^^^^,^ kings found that they could not go 
on ruling as the Tudors had ruled. This was partly 
their own fault. They were not so wise nor so strong 
as Henry VIII. or Elizabeth. There were other reasons 
besides this. Englishmen were now thinking and act- 
ing for themselves, and believed that they ought to 
have a share with the king in the government of the 
country. The result was that parliament, which had 
supported the Tudors, began to oppose the Stuarts. A 
contest between king and parliament began under James 
I., and lasted as long as the Stuarts reigned in England. 
In the long run parliament got the better of the kings, 
and so set up that free England in which parliament, 
w^hich the people choose, and not the king, has the chief 
share in ruling the country. 

6. James I. wanted to govern England as Elizabeth 
had ruled, but he did not know how to carry on her 

policy. Though lie was learned and shrewd. 
Character of ^iq was conceited, lazy, and cowardly. He 

James I. n t-i • i tt 

never understood Englishmen. He was not 

thrifty and saving, like Elizabeth, but was always in 
want of money. His chief way of getting money was 
by asking parliament to raise new taxes for him. He 
took no trouble to please his parliaments, and was al- 
ways quarrelling with them. He therefore got very 
small supplies from them, and they were always grum- 
bling at Avhat he did. 

7. In religious matters James treated those who dis- 
agreed with the English Church almost as severely as 
Elizabeth had done. He was so hard on the Puritans 
that, as we have seen, many of them fled from his 



-1625.] James I. 167 

persecution to America. Though his mother had been 
a Roman Catholic, he treated Roman Catholics very 
severely. Some of the Catholics were so 
disgusted at his harshness that they formed Jo^d^"p"i 
plots against him, as they had against Queen 
Elizabeth. The most famous of these was made in 
1605, and called the Gunpowder Plot. This was a 
plan to blow up with gunpowder the king and all his 
parliament. Guij Faiukes^ a daring soldier, hired a cel- 
lar underneath the House of Lords, and filled it with 
gunpowder. On November 5, 1605, the king was to 
come down to the House of Lords to open parliament, 
and then Fawkes was to fire the powder. Luckily 
James's ministers found out all about the plot, and 
Fawkes and tlie other conspirators were put to death. 
The Protestants were terribly frightened, and the cruel 
laws against the Catholics were carried out more strictly 
than ever, though only a few Catholics had any part in 
the scheme. 

8. James I. was a weak man, who easily fell under 
the rule of favorites. The chief of these was George 
Vllliers, whom James made Duke of Buck- r^.^^ Duke of 
inrjham. Buckingham was also a great Bucking- 
friend of the king's eldest son, Charles, 

Prince of Wales. The old king used to call Bucking- 
ham " Steenie," and his son " Baby Charles," and made 
people laugh at the foolish ways in which he showed his 
affection. 

9. James was fond of peace. As soon as he became 
king he ended the long war with Spain. He was always 
anxious to be friendly with the Spaniards, james and 
and at last proposed that liis son Charles the Spanish 
should marry an Infanta, that is to say, a "^^^'^^^se- 
daughter of the Spanish king. The English did not like 
the match, because they wished Charles to many a Prot- 
estant. Even the Spaniards were not in earnest about 



i68 James I. 

it, because they were unwilling for their king's daughter 
to marry a heretic. They pretended to wish for the 
marriage, in order to keep James friendly to them 
asfainst their enemies. 




George Villiers, First Duke of Buckingham (1592-1628). 

(From the Picture in tlie National Portrait Gallery.) 

10. Years passed away, and the Spanish marriage still 
remained unsettled. At last Prince Charles grew im- 
patient. He set out for Spain, and took Buckingham 
with him. He had never seen the Infanta, and thought 



-1625.] James I. 169 

that, if tliey got to know each other, there was more 

chance of her being willing to marry him. When he 

reached Spain he soon found out that the 

Infanta did not Uke him, and that the the'ma^r°^ 

Spaniards would never let her marry a riage and 

Protestant. He went back to England in james° 

a rage, and persuaded the old king to go to 

war against Spain. Soon afterwards, however, James T. 

died, in 1625. 

Summary. Union of England and Scotland and Ireland under 
one king. Colonies founded in America. James quarrels with 
parliament. The Gunpowder Plot. The marriage of Prince 
Charles to the Spanish Infanta falls through. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Did the Spanish and 
French establish colonies in America for the same reasons that the 
English did ? Why did James want to be friendly with the Span- 
iards? ^^'hy did parliament quarrel with the Stuarts and not 
with the Tudors V 

Times of James : Frith, H., For Queen and King. 

Character of James: Scott, W., The Fortunes of Nigel. 

The Gunpowder Plot : Green, E. E., The Lost Treasure of Trev- 
lyn; Holt, E. S., /^ Might Have Been. 

The Spanish Marriage : Ainsworth, W. H., The Spanish Match. 

Books for Teachers. Gardiner, S. R., The First Two Stuarts 
and the Puritan Revolution: Traill, H. D., Social England, vol. iv. 
(illustrated edition) ; Mackinnon, J., The Union between England 
and Scotland. 



CHAPTER XXVII 
Charles I., 1625-1649 

1. Prince Charles now became King Charles I. He 
was good-looking, serious, and dignified. But he was 
Charles I ^^^ ^° shrewd as his father, and was 
and Buck- neither clear-headed nor straightforward, 
ing am. jj^ thought more about himself than about 
his people, and was never to be trusted thoroughly. 
He was even more under Buckingham's influence than 
James had been. Buckingham was hated by the people, 
and so King Charles had no chance of making himself 
popular, because he was Buckingham's friend. Charles 
quarrelled with his parliaments even more bitterly 
than James I. had done. Yet the new king needed the 
help of parliament even more than his father. James 
had generally been at peace, but Charles was at war 
with Spain, and required much money in order to pay 
soldiers and sailors to fight his enemies. When he 
asked his parliaments for money, they answered that 
they would not vote him new taxes unless he gave up 
his friendship for Buckingham. Charles refused to do 
this, and sent his parliaments home full of anger 
against the king and his favorite. 

2. As parliament would not help him, Charles turned 
for aid to the King of France, and married Henrietta 
^ .^^ Maria, the sister of the French king. This 
France and match was not popular in England, because 
Spain. ^YiQ new queen was a Roman Catholic. 
Moreover, it brought Charles little real support from 
France. In a short time he quarrelled with France as 



-1649. 



Charles I. 



171 



well as with Spain. This fresh war made him more 
helpless than ever, and gave parliament a good chance 
to have its own way. 




Charles I. 



3. In 1628 a new parliament met. It drew up a 
document called the Petition of Right. This demanded 
that Charles should never raise taxes or 
loans without consent of parliament, or put Jf^Ri^hV*^°^ 
people in prison except for lawful reasons. 
Charles Avas forced to consent to this, because he could 
only thus obtain enough supplies to fight France and 
Spain. It was the first great victory that parliament 
had won over the king since parliament had driven 
Richard II. from the throne. The Tudor despotism now 
came to an end. 



172 Charles I. [i625- 

4. Charles did not get mucli good from his submission. 
He prepared an army and fleet to fight the French, 

but nothing came of all his efforts. Buck- 
sends away ingham, who was to have been general of 
hisparha- ^j^g expedition, was murdered, and Charles 

was forced to make peace both with France 
and Spain. Parliament soon met again, and complained 
that Charles had not honestly kept the Petition of Right, 
because he still raised customs duties called tonnage and 
poundage, which parliament had never granted liim. 
It denounced Charles so bitterly that the king thought 
it wise to put an end to parliament. For the next 
eleven years he ruled without any parliament at all. 

5. During these years Charles had to raise money as 
best he could. He was afraid to raise resfular taxes 
John Ham - "^^^^^^^^ parliament had not sanctioned, but 
den resists he tried by all sorts of shrewd tricks to get 
ship-money. g^^pp|i^g ^^^ ways wdiich did not seem to be 
against the law. He found out that in earlier days 
kings had raised a tax for building ships of war, without 
a grant by parliament. This tax was called ship-money. 
Charles now called upon all his subjects to pay him 
ship-money. A Buckinghamshire gentleman named 
John Hampden refused to pay this tax. He said that no 
tax was lawful unless it had been specially agreed upon 
by parliament. The judges, however, decided against 
Hampden, and declared that the king might raise ship- 
money if he wished. Though the king got some money 
by this means, he made himself much disliked, and 
everybody praised Hampden for his bravery in resisting 
the king's will. 

6. Charles's way of dealing with religious matters 
Laud and disgusted his subjects even more than his 
the Puri- attempts to raise money. He was more op- 
*^"^' posed to the Puritans than even Elizabeth 
and James I. had been. He chose for his chief adviser 



-1649. 



Charles I. 



73 



in affairs connected with the Church William Laud^ 
Ay-chhisliop of Canterbury. Laud was a learned, hard- 
working, and pious man, but he was too fond of in- 
terfering with things that he had better have left 
alone. He was so bitterly opposed to the Puritans that 




John II;uii[)(lt' 



they thought him little better than a Roman Catholic. 
He loved to make the worship of God stately and 
beautiful, and liis enemies said that he was upsetting the 
work done at the Reformation. 

7. Laud and Charles were not contented with driving 
the Puritans out of the Church in England. They 
wanted to make the Puritan Church of Scotland more 
like the English Church. The Scotch Presbyterians 
were now forced to obey the rule of bishops. At last 



174 Charles I. [i625- 

Laud drew up a Prayer-book which Charles ordered the 
Scots to use for divine service. The Scots hated all 
Th s ^®^ forms of worship, and thought Laud's 

resist Prajer-book worse than the English Book 

Charles. ^£ QQi^^n^Q^ Prayer. They refused to obey 
the king, and rose in revolt against hun. Charles found 
that neither English nor Scots would fight for him. He 
wasted what little money he had in trying to force the 
Prayer-book on the Scots. He utterly failed to do what 
he wished. At last Charles was forced to make peace with 
them. He gave up the Prayer-book and the bishops. 
Thus the Scotch Church once more became Presby- 
terian, and the success of the Scots encouraged the 
English also to oppose their king. 

8. After Laud, Charles's chief adviser was Tliomas 
Wejitworth, Earl of Strafford. Wentworth was a 
w ntworth ^'igoi'o^^s, fierce, able man, who liked to see 
and the king's power strong. He and Laud 
"thorough. ' gy^]^]^g(j their plans for ruling the people 
^' thorough." Wentworth was made governor of Ireland, 
and there he set up the king's power very fully. He 
made himself hated through his despotic and harsh 
ways, and there was a great outcry against both him and 
Laud. 

9. Charles was now again in urgent want of money. 
He was therefore obliged once more to call a parliament. 
^, ^ In 1640 a parliament met, which sat for so 

The Long ^ ni i • i t- 

Pariiament many years that men called it the Lo7ig 
meets. Parliament. As in 1628, Charles was quite 

helpless, and was obliged to do what the parliament 
told him to do. Its leader was John Hampden, the man 
who had denied the king's right to levy ship-money. 
Under his guidance the members of this parliament 
began to attack Charles and his ministers very severely. 

10. The men of the Long Parliament hated and feared 
Strafford more than any of the rest. They therefore 



-1649.] Charles I. 175 

passed a law that Strafford should be put to death be- 
cause he had done so much harm to the country by 
upholdmg the king. Charles had to agree to p^^j ^^ 
this law before Strafford could be executed Strafford 
under it. He was so afraid of parliament ^"^ Laud, 
that he did not dare to refuse to pass it. Strafford was 
therefore beheaded on Tower Hill. As he laid down 
his head on the block, he said, " Put not your trust in 
princes." Archbishop Laud was shut up in the Tower. 
There he remained for several years, until he also 
was executed like Strafford. He was quite an old 
man, and it was a cruel thing to treat him so harshly. 
But when he had been in power he had been very severe 
against the Puritans. Now that the Puritan parliament 
had a chance of being revenged, it took it. 

11. The Long Parliament passed many wise laws, 
which were so framed that they made it impossible for 
any king^ to rule as Charles had done Avith- ^, , 

" ^ Charles gets 

out the support of parliament. Hampden the Church 
and many of its leaders were very strongly Ffg^gj^J^" 
in favor of the Puritans. They now wanted 
to change the whole system of the Church, so as to get 
rid of the bishops and the Prayer-book and to make the 
English Church Presbyterian like the Church in Scot- 
land. Many people, who had agreed with them in pun- 
ishing Strafford and Laud and in cutting down the king's 
power, thought that this was going too far. As Charles 
was very strongly against these changes in the Church, 
the friends of bishops and the Prayer-book began to 
support him. Perhaps they thought that he could not 
do much harm now that his bad counsellors had been 
driven away and his own power checked by the new 
laws that had been passed. 

12. Charles now had a great many people on his side. 
As long as almost everybody was against him he had 
been quite helpless, but now he plucked up his courage 



176 Charles I. [1625- 

ancl began to think of fighting his parliament. He 
still made many blunders and disgusted his friends 
Beginning by his want of straightforwardness. This 
r^- *M vv ^^^^ ^^^ parliament to wish to cut down his power 
still more. Charles thought he was strong 
enough to resist this, and in 1642 went to war against 
parliament. 

13. The Grreat Civil War lasted for more than four 
years. Englishmen were pretty equally divided be- 
Cavaliers tween king and parliament. This made the 
and Round- fight very long and obstinate. Those who 

fought for the king were called Ro3^alists or 
Cavaliers — that is, horsemen or gentlemen. Those who 
fought for the parliament were nicknamed Soundheads, 
because the Puritans cut their hair so short that their 
heads looked round. 

14. At first the king did better than his enemies. In 
1642 he won the Battle of Udgehill, the first battle that 

was fought. Then he made his headquarters 
early victo- at Oxford, while London was the chief centre 
nes and ^f ^]^q parliament. The north and west sup- 

failures. ^ -'■ 

ported the king, while the south and east was 
in favor of 2)arliament. Parties were very evenly divided, 
and in the early years of tlie struggle the king pressed 
parliament so hard that at last the Scots had to come to 
its help. In 1644 the Scots and English together won 
their first great victory over the king in the Battle of 
Marston Moor near York. But even after this the king 
won fresh triumphs. It almost looked as if some of the 
parliament's generals were afraid of defeating the king 
too completely. 

15. The best soldier that fought for the parliament 
was a Huntingdonshire gentleman named Oliver Crom- 
well. He belonged to the same family as Thomas 
Cromwell, the minister of Henry VIII., and had some- 
thing of Thomas Cromwell's fierce spirit, though he 



-1649.] 



Charles I. 



177 




England and Wales during the Great Civil Wa 



12 



1 78 



Charles I. 



[1625- 



Defeat of 
Charles. 



was a much more honorable and better man. OHver 

grew very angry at the slowness and slackness of the 

.. parliamentary generals. He drew np a plan 

and the for making the army better disciplined, bet- 

New Model ^g^, j3^^i^|^ .^^^ ]^g^^g^, ^|3lg ^^ ^^Yl^^ rpj^-g ^^g 

called the JVetv Model. By it the incompetent generals 
were got rid of and Cromwell himself became one of the 
army's chief leaders. This reform of the parliamentary 
army settled the fate of 
the war. In 
1645 the New 
Model defeated Charles 
completely at the Battle 
ofNasehy in Northampton- 
shire. Next year Charles 
found that he could fight 
no longer, and gave him- 
self up to his enemies. 

16. Parliament had thus 
beaten the king. Even 
during the fi g h t i n g 
Charles's ene- 
mies had not 
agreed very 
w^ e 1 1. No w 
that they had gained the 
day, they began to quarrel 
fiercely both as to how 

England should be governed and how the Church was 
to be ruled. In this dispute it was soon found that the 
Long Parliament took one side, while the New Model 
army took the other. The quarrel of parliament and 
the army made both of these anxious to win the king's 
support. Charles listened to both, but proved true to 
neither. Once more it was seen that the king was a 
man whose word no one could trust. 



Quarrel of 
the army 
and parlia- 
ment. 




Soldier' armed with a Pike. 

(From a broadside, printed circa 1630.) 



-1649.] Charles I. 179 

17. The army soon got the better of parliament. They 
had force on their side, and it was natural that they 
should win. The triumph of the arm}^ made 
Cromwell, the most trusted of the generals, tion of 
the chief man in the country. He severely Charles I. 
blamed the king for his treachery and deceit, and 
demanded that he should be tried as a traitor to the 
nation. He drove away from Westminster all those 
members of parliament who Avould not agree to this. 
Those who were left, who were called The Rump^ set 
up a High Court of Justice. This court condemned 
Charles to death, and on January 30, 1649, his head was 
cut off before his own palace in London. Charles died 
so nobly and piously that many of those who had dis- 
trusted him felt sorrow and pity for his cruel end. 



Summary. Charles I.'s affection for Buckingham and his 
methods of raising money for wars bring him into conflict with 
parliament, wliich presents the Petition of Right. The ship- 
money, the rule of Laud and Strafford, and the war with the 
Scotch lead to the Civil War between Charles and Long Parlia- 
ment. On the latter's side Cromwell with his New Model over- 
comes the king, who is finally executed. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Find out from some 
other history if Wentworth was always on the king's side. Why 
did the judges decide against Hampden? When was the principle 
that there should be no taxes without the consent of parliament 
first set forth? Who had set up an English Church in England 
independent of the Pope? Who first had the English Book of 
Common Prayer made ? What other English kings had lost the 
throne by action of parliament? 

The Army of Charles : Reid, Capt. M., The White Gauntlet. 

Naseby : Pickering, E., The Dogs of War. 

The Civil War: Church, A. J., With the King at Oxford; Lee, 
Mary and C, Rosamond Fane. 

Laud : Lyall, Edna, In Spite of All. 

Hampden : Lyall, Edna, To Right the Wrong. 

Incidents of the War: Henty, G. A., Friends Though Divided; 
Marryat, Caj)t. F., llie Children of the New Forest. 



i8o 



Charles I. 



Parties: Edgar, J. G., Cavaliers and Roundheads. 
End of the War: Yoiige, C. M., The Pic/eon Pie. 
Execution of Charles: Dumas, Alex., Twenty Years After. 

Books for Teachers. (See Chapter XXI.); Hutton, W. 11., 
Laud; Traill, H. D., Strafford: Gardiner, S. R., History of Eng- 
land from 1603 to 1042 \ History of the Great Civil War. 




A Twenty-shilling Piece of Charles I. Struck at Oxford a.d. 1643. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
The Commonwealth, 1649-1660 

1. The Ramp now voted tliat England should have 
no more kings, but should be henceforth a Common- 
wealth or Republic. They abolished the 

House of Lords as well as the Monarchy, so the^Rump. 
that the House of Commons became the only 
thing in the state that was left. 

2. The fighting was not yet over. Though England 
was entirely in the hands of the Rump, the Scots called 
upon the dead king's eldest son, Charles, 

Prince of Wales, to become their king as Jf^^relTnd!^^^ 
Charles II. Besides this, Ireland mostly de- 
clared for the young king. The Irish Catholics had 
been in revolt for some years. They had no love for 
the English Church, but they were still more afraid of 
the Puritans. The result of all this was that the New 
Model had to conquer Scotland and Ireland before its 
task was really over. The soldiers did not find much 
difficulty with this work. h\ 1649 Cromwell invaded 
Ireland, and before long made himself absolute master 
of the whole island. 

3. In 1650 Cromwell attacked Scotland, and defeated 
the young king at the Battle of Dunhar. Next year 
Charles made a desperate effort to invade 
England. Cromwell pursued him closely, Jf^lc'c^Uand.'* 
and beat him utterly at the Battle of 
Worcester in 1651. This was the last fighting that was 
necessary. The King of Scots managed to reach France 
after various hairbreadth escapes. All the three king- 



i82 The Commonwealth [i64d- 

cloms were now in the power of Cromwell and his 
Puritan soldiers. 

4. Cromwell soon quarrelled with the Rump of the 
Long Parliament. He wanted it to give up its power 
n^ ^ ^n and allow fresh elections to be held. But the 
made Lord Rump was afraid to do this, and preferred 
Protector. ^^ |^^|^| ^^^ ^^ ^j^^ government as long as 

it could. At last Cromwell lost patience. In 1653 he 
went down to parliament and turned out all the 
members. Thus the army and its general put an end 
to the House of Commons as well as to the king, the 
House of Lords, and the old Church. The army now 
alone remained. But the soldiers did not like it to be 
thought that the three kingdoms Avere ruled by the 
sword alone. The officers therefore drew up a new 
plan for the government of England. The country was 
still to be a commonwealth ; but there was to be a 
single person to act as chief ruler, with the title of Lord 
Protector. Cromwell was made Protector, and with this 
title he governed England until his death. 

5. Cromwell now showed that he was as wise as a 
statesman as he had been as a general. He strove hard 

„, to end the troubles which the civil wars 

CromweHs , • i 

home had caused. He ruled the country justly, 

government. |^^^^ ]-^g ^^g ^g^,y stern against all who dis- 
obeyed him. He quarrelled with his parliaments as 
much as Charles I. had done, but he was much more 
rough in putting down their opposition than the weak 
king had been. He formed all sorts of plans for the 
improvement of the country. He was Jiot content to 
have parliament represent England and Wales only, 
but summoned Irish and Scotch members to his parlia- 
ments. He tried to settle the Church question by 
giving liberty to all sorts of Puritans to worship as 
they chose. He would not, however, allow members of 
the English Church or Roman Catholics the same freedom 



-1660.] The Commonwealth 183 

to follow their consciences. He was afraid of extending 
liberty to these Churches, because he knew that they 
were friends of the young King of Scots. Cromwell's 
rule was not generall}^ liked. The English royalists, 




Oliver Cromwell. 

most of the Scotch and Irish, and all members of the 
English Church and Roman Catholics hated it. Many 
of CromAvell's own Puritan friends now fell away 
from him, since they thought he was becoming a sort 
of king, and they detested monarchy of all sorts. 
Indeed, before his death Cromwell was offered the title 
of king by his parliament. He refused to accept it, be- 



184 The Commonwealth [l649- 

cause he knew that by doing so he would give much 
offence to the repubhcan soldiers whose swords had won 
for him his power. 

6. The best side of Cromwell's rule is seen in his 
dealings with foreign powers. Since Elizabeth's days 

,, Eneland had lost most of its influence 

Cromwell '^ • i • i i i 

and foreign abroad. Cromwell now revived its old glory, 
powers. jjg defeated the Dutch and thereby increased 

English commerce. Like Elizabeth, he joined France 
against Spain. France was now ruled by Louis XIV., 
the most powerful of its later kings. Cromwell and 
Louis won victories over the Spaniards both by sea 
and land. He took the West Indian island of Jajnaica 
from the Spaniards, and it has remained English ever 
since. Even Royalists, who hated Cromwell as the 
murderer of their king, admired him for his vigor and 
success against the Spaniards. 

7. Oliver died in 1658. His son, Richard CroinweU, 
was made Protector in his stead. Richard was a lazy 
Fall of ^^^^ foolish fellow, who did not care at all 
Richard to be the head of the state. He quarrelled 
Cromwell. ^yi^]^ the army, whicli soon drove him from 
power. The army did not know what to do when it 
had got rid of the Protector. At last it brought back 
the Rump of the Long Parliament to power. The army 
and the ,Rump, however, soon began to quarrel again, 
just as they had done before Cromwell became Protector. 

8. Every one was now tired of the rule of the Rump 
and the army. It was soon seen that the only way to 
jyj , put things right again was to bring back the 
restores king, but uo oue knew how that was to be 
Charles II. ^^^^^^ ^^ ^.^^^ ^j^^ ^^^^1 ^^^^ taken by General 

Monk, the commander of the troops in Scotland. He 
marched to London, and found that every one wanted 
to get rid of the Rump and restore the king. He 
therefore insisted that a new parliament should be 



■1660. 



The Commonwealth 



185 



chosen, which was to decide what was to be done in the 
future. This parliament met in 1660, and at once 
asked the son of Charles I. to return to England and 
take up the government. On May 29, 1660, which 
was his birthday, Charles II. entered London. Thus 




A Coach of the Middle of the Seventeenth Century, about 1650. 

was brought about what was called the Restoration. 
Everybody rejoiced that the rule of the soldiers and 
Puritans was over, and that the king had come back to 
his own asfain. 



Summary. After subduing h"eland and Scotland and driving 
Prince Charles from the country, Cromwell dismisses the Rump 
Parliament. He is made Lord Protector and carries on the gov- 
ernment well at home and abroad, but when he dies his son 
Richard is too weak to govern, and Prince Charles is called back 
by General Monk. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. What other great gen- 
erals were good rulers? ^Miat rulers of England had had wars 
with Ireland and with Scotland? What were the results? 



i86 The Commonwealth 

Conquest of Ireland : Brereton, F. S., In ilie King^s Service. 
Cromwell and Prince Charles: Scott, W., Wooddock. 
Prince Charles: Green, E. E., After Worcester. 
Cromwell: Barr, A. E,, The Lion's WheJp ; Friend Olivia. 

Books for Teachers. Firth, C. H., Cromwell; Morley, J., 
Cromwell; Gardiner, S. R., CroinweWs Place in History ; History 
of the Commonwealth and Protectorate. 



CHAPTER XXIX 
Charles II., 1660-1685, and James II., 1685-1688 

1. Charles II. was by far the ablest of the Stuart 
kings. Brought up in exile and in poverty, he had 
learned many useful lessons during those 

hard days. He understood Englishmen charfesH^ 
better than his father had done, and was 
willing to let them have some of their own way so long 
as they were willing to keep him as their king. But he 
was selfish, extravagant, laz}^ and pleasure-loving. He 
set a very bad example to his subjects, which many of 
them followed too faithfully. There was soon a great deal 
of grumbling. Yet Charles was so shrewd, good-natured, 
and witty that he never altogether lost his popularity. 

2. King and Parliament set to work together to make 
things once more as they had been before the Civil War. 
Cromwell's army was broken up. A few ^^^^ results 
regiments, however, were kept under arms, of the 

and these regiments were the beginning of estoration. 
England's modern " standing army." Cromwell's union 
of England with Scotland and Ireland was given up, and 
both Scotland and Ireland got back their own Parlia- 
ments. In Scotland bishops were restored in the Church. 
The Presbyterians were badly treated. The English 
Church was made what it had been before the Rebellion, 
and the Prayer-book and bishops Avere brought back. 
The Puritans were now very unpopular, and few people 
cared what became of them. Many of the Puritans 
ceased to be members of the Church, and set up separate 
churches of their own. They were called Dissenters^ 



1 88 Charles II. and James II. [166O- 

because they " dissented " or disagreed with tlie Church. 
Their lot was a very hard one. They were not allowed 
to build chapels of their own or meet together for wor- 
ship. Parliament, which before the Civil War had been 
on the side of the Puritans, now passed many harsh laws 
against the Dissenters. 

3. In some things Charles II. tried to follow in Crom- 
well's footsteps. lie l^ept up friendsliip with France 

as Cromwell liad done. Charles, however, 
alliance. could not hold his own against Louis XIV. 

Before long he began to take bribes from 
the French king and made with him the Secret Treaty 
of Dover against the Dutch. Moreover, Louis XIV. 
was now so powerful that Englishmen were growing 
afraid of him. All these things made the French alliance 
unpopular in England. 

4. Charles II. was as careful as Cromwell to protect 
English commerce and colonies. He fought two wars 

against the Dutch, England's chief rival on 
Commerce ^|^ ^^^^ j^^ ^-j^-^^g \NQ\\t on, the English took 

and colonies c i ■ 

away from the Dutcli much 01 their trade. 
Later the Dutch and English became better friends, as 
they both had to join together against Louis XIV. In 
one of the wars against the Dutch, England captured 
Neiv Amsterdam, the chief Dutch colony in North 
America. Tlie English now gave it the name of New 
York, in honor of the king's brother, the Duke of York. 
Other new colonies were also set up in America. One 
of them was called Carolina, after Charles himself, and 
another Pennsylvania, after its founder, William Penn. 

5. Two heavy troubles fell upon London during the 
reign of Charles II. In 1665 there broke out a pestilence, 
-,, p. called the Great Plague of London. This 
and Fire of was a terrible disease, which spread rapidly 
London. -^^ ^^iQ badly drained, crowded lanes of the 
old city. The doctors did not know how to cure those 



1688.] 



Charles II. and James II. 



189 



who caught the phigue, and so many people died of 
the disease that they had to be buried in great pits, 
which held hundreds of bodies. Next year (1666) 
another disaster befell London. This was the Great 
Fire, Avhich burnt down a large part of the city. Many 
beautiful old buildings were destroyed, and among them 




Old St. Paul's on Fire. 



the old Cathedral of St. Paul's. Some good, however, 

came from the fire, for the town was rebuilt in a more 

healthful fashion. The streets were made broader, and 

the houses were built of brick instead of wood. 

6. Ever since the Restoration the Roman Catholic 

Church had been very busy in England. The harsh 

laws passed against the Roman Catholics 

in earlier times were still in force. They T^^ ^^^^ 

, . , , -^ Act. 

were, however, not carried out nearly so 

strictly as they had been. A huge number of important 

persons turned Roman Catholics. The chief of these 

converts was James, Duke of York, the younger brother 



190 Charles II. and James II. [166O- 

of Charles II., and the next heir to the throne on the 
king's death. Charles himself cared very little about 
religion ; but if he believed in anything, he believed in 
the doctrines of the Catholics. He tried more than once 
to give toleration both to the Catholics and to the Prot- 
estant Dissenters. Parliament was against this, and 
refused to allow any toleration. In 1673 it passed a law 
called the Test ^(^f, which prevented Roman Catholics from 
holding any office. Men remained very jealous and sus- 
picious of the Roman Catholics for many years, and were 
willing to believe anything that was said against them. 

7. In 1678 a story arose that the Catholics had formed 
what was called the Popish Plot. A knavish clergyman 

of the English Church, called Titus Oates, 
PkTt ^°P'^^ said that he had discovered that the Catholics 

had formed a plot to kill Charles and make 
the Duke of York king in his stead. Gates was an un- 
blusliing liar, and the stories he told were quite untrue ; 
but people were in such a state of panic about the Roman 
Catholics that nearly everybody believed him. Other 
wicked men followed Oates's example. It was now a 
very paying business to tell tales about the Popish Plot. 
Any scoundrel who wanted money and fame had only to 
invent a new story to become popular. All England soon 
became wild with excitement. Many innocent Cath- 
olics were sent to the scaffold on the lying evidence of 
Gates and other informers. 

8. The shrewdest statesman of these days was the 

£arl of Shaftesbury/. He had once been one of the king's 

-n,- TT . ministers, but had been driven from power. 
The Habeas ' . ,^ • tt 

Corpus Act and was anxious to get office again. He was 

rery unscrupulous, and did not much care 



and the Ex- 
clusion Bill. 



what he did if he could get what he wanted. 
He now took advantage of the panic excited by the 
Popish Plot to win influence for himself. For the next 
two or three years he could do what he pleased with the 



-1688.J Charles 11. and James 11. 191 

House of Commons. Some of the laws which he per- 
suaded Parliament to pass Avere wise. The best of them 
was the Habeas Corpus Act oi 1679, which made it harder 
for the Government to shut up innocent people in prison. 
The law which Shaftesbury was most anxious to pass 
was one for preventing the Duke of York from becoming 
king after Charles II.'s death. This was called the Ux- 
elusion Bill, and the reason it gave for excluding the 
duke from the throne was that he was a Roman Catholic. 
The Exclusion Bill was passed by the House of Commons, 
but the king put an end to parliament for the time in 
order to prevent the Bill being brought before the House 
of Lords. All through this period Charles II. showed 
great prudence. He let Shaftesbury have a good deal 
of his own way ; but Shaftesbury was so violent that 
people began to be disgusted with him. Gradually the 
panic against the Roman Catholics died away. Men 
began to see that Gates had been telling them lies. 
When parliament met again the House of Lords rejected 
the Exclusion Bill. 

9. England was now divided into two parties, one 
for Shaftesbury, the other against him. Shaftesbury's 
friends were called Whif/s, while his enemies 

were called Tories. It looked for a time as yy^!^^ ^"^ 

1 ones. 

if there would be civil war between them ; 
but Shaftesbury had gone too far, and so the Whigs 
lost ground. At last Shaftesbury fled to Holland, and 
died there. For the rest of Charles II. 's life the Tories 
remained in office. 

10. Disgusted at losing power, some of the fiercer 
Whigs formed a plot to kill the king. This was called 
the Mi/e House Plot, because it was hoped 

to shoot the king as he rode past a house House^Piot 
called the Rye House, which belonged to and fall of 
the conspirators. The plot was soon dis- ^^^ Whigs. 
covered, and the chief leaders of it put to death. 



192 Charles II. and James II. [1660- 

11. Charles II. died suddenly in 1685, and the Duke 
of York became King James IL, despite the Exclusion 

Bill. The new king was much duller than 
onimt7n. l^i« brother, and had many of the faults of 

his father, Charles I. ; but he remained stead- 
fast in his devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. 
He had run the risk of losing the throne rather than give 
up what he believed to be true. Now that he had become 
king, he saw that he owed liis tin-one to the support of 
the Tories, who were mostly Protestants. He said that 
he would let the Protestant Church go on as it was, pro- 
vided that lie was allowed liberty to worship God after 
his owii fashion. For a short time everything went well. 
Charles's Tory ministers were kept in office, and James 
ruled by their advice. When parliament met it strongly 
supported the new king. 

12. Unable to win power by other means, some of 

the Whigs started a revolt against James. Their leader 

was the king's nephew, the Duke of Mon- 
Monmouth's ^^^^^^^^ j.^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^1^^ rebellion at 

rebellion. i 

the Battle of Sedgemoor (1685), in Somer- 
set, the last pitched battle fought in England. Mon- 
mouth was put to death, and his followers were very 
cruelly treated. 

13. James now began to adopt a bolder policy. He 
thought it very unfair that Roman Catholics should be 

kept out of all offices by the Test Act, and 
The suspend- asked parliament to repeal that law. Par- 
ing power. Yi^mQut refused, thinking that the Test Act 
was more than ever necessary under a Catholic king. 
James then set to work to get round the law in all those 
indirect ways which Charles I. had been so fond of. He 
claimed what was called a Suspending Power, — that is, a 
right of stopping the carrying out of any law if he were so 
minded. By virtue of this suspending power, he practi- 
cally put aside the Test iict and many other laws against 



-1688. 



Charles II. and James II. 



193 

Roman Catholics. He tilled the army and navy with 
Catholic officers. He appointed Roman Catholics to be 
his chief ministers, and even gave them offices in the 
Protestant Church. At last he issued what he called a 
Declaration of Indulgence^ — that is, he declared that he 




King James TI. 

(From a Picture in the National Portrait Gallery.) 



would suspend all the laws Avhich prevented men from 
worshipping God after their own fashion. 

14. James hoped to join the Roman Catholics and 
the Protestant Dissenters too-ether in an attack on the 

o 

Enoii.sh Church. He was now clearly aimincr 

o , ^ ^ J in General op- 

at overthrowing the English Church and position to 
making himself a despot. The Protestant J^"^^^- 
Dissenters were as much afraid of Rome and of despotism 

13 



194 Charles II. and James II. [l660- 

as the members of the English Church. Before long all 

sorts of Protestants joined together to save the liberties 

of England and the Protestant religion. 

15. James was an old man, and till now his next 

heir had been his daughter, the Princess Mary. She was 

a good Protestant, and had been married to 

The Revolu- j^g^. cousin, William, Prince of Oranqe, the 
tion of 1688. J ij 1 

chief ruler of the Dutch Republic, and the 
leading Protestant in all Europe. Now a son was born 
to James. This child would be brought up a Catholic, 
and it looked as if the line of Roman Catholic kings 
would go on forever. This was more than the English 
could endure. Some leading men of both the Whig and 
Tory parties met together, and agreed to invite the Prince 
of Orange to come over to England and save the country 
from King James. William promised to do this, and 
landed in Devonshire on November 5, 1688, the anni- 
versary of the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. He 
at once marched to London. James found that no one 
would fight for him, and ran away to France. A parlia- 
ment met, and declared the throne vacant. Then it 
offered the throne to William and Mary, who accepted. 
Thus Avas brought about what Englishmen long called the 
Glorious Revolution of 168S. It ended the long struggle 
of king and parliament that had begun with the accession 
of James I. It ended it by driving out the king, who had 
tried to set himself up against his people, and by making 
a new king by Act of Parliament. Parliament thus de- 
feated the crown, and became the strongest power in the 
English state. 

o 

Summary. Charles II. restores to England the institutions 
existing before the Civil War, and persecutes the Dissenters. He 
takes New York from the Dutch. The Plague and Fire of Lon- 
don. The Catholic faith of Charles's brother James leads to the 
Test Act, Popish Plot, the Exclusion Bill of Shaftesbury, the Whig 
and Tory quarrels, and the Rye House Plot. Habeas Corpus Act 



-1688.] Charles II. and James II. 195 

the most important of the reign. James II. 's accession to the 
throne disputed by Monmouth. Acts of tyranny by James cause 
his expulsion and the coming of his son-in-law, William of 
Orange. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Why were the Puritans 
so called? In whose reign did they first become important? Were 
the people who came over in the " Mayflower " Puritans? At w^hat 
other time had there been a great plague in England? What is 
meant by toleration? What right was assured to Englishmen by 
the Habeas Corpus Act? 

The Plague: Hoare, E. N., The Brave Men of E yam; Defoe, 
Daniel, Journal of the Plague Year. 

The P'ire : Henty, G. A., When London Burned. 

Popish Plots: Scott, W., Peveril of the Peak. 

Rye House Plot: Rowsell, M. C, Traitor or Patriot. 

Monmouth's Rebellion: Green, E. E., In Taunton Town; 
Doyle, A. C, Micah Clarke; Besant, W., For Faith and 
Freedom. 

The Revolution of 1688 : Yonge, C. M., The Last of the 
Cavaliers; Macdonald, R., The Sword of the King. 

Story of the Times : Lee, M. and C, The Oak Staircase. 

Books for Teachers. Airy, O., The English Restoration (Long- 
mans' Epochs); Hale, E., The Fall of the Stuarts (Longmans' 
Epochs) ; Taylor, W. F., England under Charles IL ; Traill, H. D., 
Shaftesbury. 



CHAPTER XXX 
William III., 1689-1702, and Mary II., 1689-1694 

1. William III. was a grandson of Charles I., and 
Queen Mari/ II. was a daughter of James II., but they 

did not reign because of their royal descent. 
\A^iiiiam and 'X'hev reisrned because they were asked to do 

Mary made -^ ^. n i- . ^ 

king and SO by parliament, rariiament, however, was 

queen by careful not to break away from the ordinary 

parliament. . „ . i • i i 

line of succession any more than it could 

help. This was the reason why it made Mary share the 

throne with her husband. We always call the king's 

wife the queen, but it is only in Mary's case that we 

call the reign after the queen's name as well as after the 

king's. The reason is that Mary was made a reigning 

queen, like Elizabeth and Victoria. It was not simply 

because she was the king's wife that she bore the royal 

title. 

2. Parliament now passed some laws to prevent any 
future king from acting as James II. had done. The 

chief of these was called the Bill of Rights. 
Rights^ and It declared that no king had a right to a 
the Tolera- suspending power such as James II. had 

claimed. It also said that Roman Catholics 
should not be alloAved to rule in England. By other 
laws it was arranged that if William and Mary died 
without children, the next ruler should be Mary's 
younger sister, Anne. If Anne died without children, 
Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and her Protestant descend- 
ants were to succeed to the throne. Sophia was a 
granddaughter of James I. She was chosen because 



William III. and Mary II. 197 

she was the nearest Protestant relative of the king and 
queen. It is by reason of this hiw tliat all English 
kings and queens, who have reigned from this period 
down to the present day, have had a right to rule. An- 
other law of the same time was the Toleration Aet^ which 




William III. 

gave the Protestant Dissenters a right to worship freely 
in their own chapels. 

3. Unlike the Stuart kings, William III. obeyed the 
law strictly, and was forced to govern in a fashion that 
pleased parliament. William did not like Beginning 
this, as he was fond of power. He was of party 
not, however, able to help himself. Parlia- ^o^^^""^^" • 
ment only gave him enough money to carry on the 
government from year to year. If he had ruled in a 



198 



William III. and Mary II. 



1689- 



way parliament did not like, it could always stop sup- 
plies, and so make him helpless. One result of this 
growing power of parliament was that William was 
gradually forced to choose all his ministers from the 
party that was strongest in parliament. At first Wil- 
liam chose some Whigs and some Tories to be his min- 
isters. But a Whig parliament so disliked William's 
Tory ministers that they forced him to dismiss them 
from office, and keep no ministers except Whigs. When, 
a few years later, the Tories got the majority in parlia- 
ment, William was forced to have none but Tory minis- 
ters. Thus began what is called "party government" 
in England, which has lasted ever since. Its result was 
to hand over to parliament a great deal of the power the 
kings had had up to that time. 





UR 1 SH 

feleof the Boyne 


SE AM 


Dublin^ 


j-^ <^ 


r^ 


fir 




^ 



The Position of the Boyne. 



4. William III. had to fight hard before he made him- 
self master of Ireland and Scotland. The Irish Roman 
The Revolu- ^atholics supported James long after he 
tion in had been driven from England. At last 

Ireland. James himself went to Ireland and reigned 

there for some time. In 1690 William defeated James 
at the Battle of the Boyne^ and soon drove him out of 
the country. Thus Ireland was once more conquered. 
The Catholics were punished for supporting James by 
being treated very badly. They lost nearly all their 



-1702.] William III. and Mary II. 199 

land, and only Protestants were allowed to govern the 
country. This state of things lasted for more than a 
hundred years. 

5. The Scots followed the example of the English, 
and drove James from the throne. They chose William 
and Mar}^ as king and queen, and abolished ^.^^ Revolu- 
bishops in the Scottish Church. Ever since tion in 
that time the Church of Scotland has re- Scotland, 
mained Presbyterian. Before long the Highlanders, 
who dwelt in the hills in the north of Scotland, rose 
in revolt in favor of James II. But after winning a 
battle at KiUiecrankie, the Highlanders w^ent home, and 
the friends of King William finally got the upper hand. 

6. After James II. was driven from England, he got 
much help from Louis XIV. of France. William III. 
had already been struggling against the -,, ^ 
power of France for nearly twenty yeare. against 

He now persuaded the English to declare ^r*"^^- 
war against Louis. For eight years the English and 
French went on fighting. This war, known in Europe 
as the War of the Palatinate, was called in America 
King WillianCs War. England was not very successful 
on land, but gained a complete victory over the French at 
sea at the battle of La Hogue. At last peace was made 
at Ryswich This war cost so much money that William 
was not able to pay for it year by year. He had to bor- 
row money for this purpose and pay interest upon it. 
This was the beginning of the National Debt. 

7. Queen Mary died in 1694. She was much more 
English and more beloved than William. William was 
a very able man, but he took no pains to vviiiiam III. 
understand English ways, and the English and the 
people disliked him. He became so unpop- •'^^° ^*^^' 
ular that many attempts were made to bring back his 
father-in-law to the throne. James II. 's friends were 
now called Jacobites. This word comes from Jacobus, 



200 William III. and Mary II. 

the Latin for James. Louis XIV. still supported James 
IL, and when he died the French king recognized his 
son as James III. This made William and the English 
so angry that they made ready to fight Louis again. 
Before anything could be done William III. died, in 
1702. 

Summary. Parliament makes William and Mavy king and 
queen, passes the Bill of Rights, the Toleration Act, and an act re- 
garding the succession to the throne. The party in power, Whig 
or Tory, controls the king's power. William defeats the rebellious 
Irish under James II. at the Boyne and also subdues Scotland. He 
defeats France at La Hogue and starts a national debt. The 
Jacobites try to put James back on the throne. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. What other Queen 
Mary had ruled England? What was the suspending power? Do 
we have a State Church in the United States? Is everybody here 
allowed to believe in any religion he chooses? Do we have politi- 
cal parties in the United States? Name them. Do you know 
what name was applied to the Irish who fought on AVilliam's side 
at the Boyne? Have we a national debt? 

Character of Queen Mary II. : Marshall, E., Kensington Palace. 

Marriage of Mary to William ; Paull, M. A., My Mistress the 
Queen. 

The Boyne: Henty, G. A., The Orange and the Green. 

The Scotch War: Crockett, S. R., Lochinvar. 

The Jacobites: INIarryat, Capt. F., Snarleyyow or The Dog 
Fiend; Weyman, S. J., Shreioshury. 

Book for Teachers. Traill, H. D., William III. 



CHAPTER XXXI 
Anne, 1702-1714 

1. Queen A7ine was kind and good-natured, but not 
very gifted. Had she really had to govern the country, 
she could hardly have done it very well, p^^^^ ^^^ 
She was ruled, however, by her great friend Mari- 

the Duchess of Marlborough, whose husband, borough, 
the Duke of Marlborough, was the chief general England 
then had. This was very lucky, for war with France 
was just beginning, and Marlborough was by far the 
best man to manage the affairs of England. For sev- 
eral years he was both general of the army and chief 
minister. 

2. The war that was now fought was called the War 
of the Spanish Succession, but was known in America as 
Queen Anne's War. Louis XIV. wished to _^ „, 

Tnc War of 

make his grandson Philip king of Spain, the Spanish 
England, Holland, Austria, and many other Succession, 
states joined together in what was called the Grand 
Alliance in order to prevent him. Their chief reason 
for doing this was that they were so much afraid of the 
power of France that they did not wish France and 
Spain to be joined together. 

3. During this war Marlborough won many famous 
victories over the French. The first of these was at 
Blenheim, in Germany, in 1704. Marlbor- j^^rl- 
ough's victory was the more brilliant, since borough's 
the French had won nearly every battle they '^^^^°^^^^- 
had fought all through the long reign of Louis XIV. 
Afterwards Marlborough won three battles in the Neth- 



202 



Anne 



[1702- 



erlands : at Bmnillies, at Oudenarde^ and at Malplaquet. 
Another great gain of the English in this war was the 
capture of the rock of Gibraltar in the south of Spain. 
Gibraltar has remained English ever since. However 




Queen Anne. 

(After a Portrait by John Closterman in the National Portrait Gallery.) 



hard the English fought, they could not drive Louis' 
grandson out of Spain, because nearly all the Spaniards 
supported him. 

4. The war was very bloody and costly. Before long 
people began to wonder why peace was not made, In 



-1714.] Anne 

particular the Tories became ver}^ anxious 
war. Marlborough had always been a Tory, 
so eager to go on lighting that he threw over 
his old friends and joined the Wliigs. His 
ministry, which had been Tory, thus became 
Whig-. But the Whio-s made the mistake 
of continuing the war longer than was necess; 
a great cry rose for peace. The Tories got a 



203 

to end tlie 
but he was 

The Tory 
ministry and 
the Treaty 
of Utrecht. 

ar}'. Soon 
majority in 



■ /!/ R T K 




Map of the Netherlands to illustrate Marlborough's Campaigns. 



parliament, and drove Marlborough from office. Anne 
was now quite willing to get rid of Marlborough, be- 
cause she had quarrelled, with his wife, whose overbear- 
ing ways the queen had at last got tired of. The Tories 
remained in office for the rest of Anne's reign. The 
chief thing they did was to make peace with France. 



204 



Anne 



[1702- 




The Position of Gibraltar. 



This they did in the Treaty of Utrecht^ which was signed 
in 1713. Though they were in such a hurry to make 
peace that they did not make as good terms with the 

French as they might, 
this treaty gave England 
many advantages. It rec- 
ognized Philip as King 
of Spain, though it gave 
England Gibraltar. In 
America France gave up 
to England the Hudson's 
Bay territory. Nova Sco- 
tia, and Newfoundland. 
5. A great event of 
Queen Anne's reign was the union between England and 
Scotland. Though England and Scotland had had one 
The union king since 1603, each country was still gov- 
with Scot- erned after its own fashion ; except in Crom- 
' well's time, both countries kept a separate 

parliament. This did not work well, and the English 
and Scots disagreed so much that there was a prospect 
even of a union of the crowns coming to an end. Queen 
Anne's ministers proposed that the parliaments and gov- 
ernments of the two countries should be united, so that 
there might be less chance of Englishmen and Scots 
quarrelling. Both countries consented to this, and in 
1707 the Act of Union was passed. Henceforward 
there were no longer separate English and Scottish 
parliaments. A single parliament of Great Britain sat 
at Westminster. In this Scotland was represented 
both in the House of Lords and in the House of Com- 
mons. It was, however, agreed that Scotland should 
keep her own Presbyterian Church. The union was not 
popular at first in either country, but it was a wise 
measure, and turned out in the long run to be a great 
success. 



-1714.] 



Anne 



205 



6. Queen Anne had married Prince George of Den- 
mark. All her children had died before her, and Anne 

herself was now in very poor health. The 

The last 

old Electress Sophia of Hanover died about years of 
this time, so, accoixling to law, the next king Queen 
would be her son, George, Elector of Han- 
over, George was a great friend of the Whigs, and the 
queen's Tory ministers felt sure that if he became king 




The Battle of Blenheim. 

(From an Engraving after a Picture by La Guerre at Marlborough House. ) 



he would drive them from power. Lord Bolinghrohe 
was the most brilliant but the least honest of the Tory 
statesmen. He formed a plan for securing the throne 
for Anne's brother, the son of James II., whom most 
Englishmen called The Pretender, However, before his 
phms were ready, Anne suddenly died. The Elector of 
Hanover Avas now proclaimed George I. without oppo- 



2o6 Anne 

sition, and Bolingbroke had to flee the country. Thus 
Queen Anne was the last of the House of Stuart. 
Henceforward the House of Hanover reigned in its 
stead. 

Genealogical Table of the House of Hanover. 

James I., 
grandfather of 

Sophia, Electress of Hanover. 

George I. 

I 
George II. 

grandfather of 

George III. 



I \ I 

George IV. William IV. The Duke of Kent. 

Victoria. 

I 
Edward VII. 

Summary. Marlborough, Queen Anne's chief general and ad- 
viser, engages in the War of the Spanish Succession against France 
and wins many victories, but is put out of power after a time and 
the Peace of Utrecht is made. The Act of Union abolishes the 
Scotch Parliament and gives representation to Scotland in the 
English Parliament. Failure of Bolingbroke's plan to have Anne's 
brother succeed her instead of George, Elector of Hanover. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Whose daughter was 
Anne V Why did parliament let her ascend the throne and reject 
her father? Did Ireland have its own parliament? 

Marlborough: Henty, G. A., In the Irish Brigade; A Cornet of 
Horse. 

Blenheim : Burton, J. E. B., Across the Salt Seas ; Southey, R., 
After Blenheim (poem). 

War in Spain ; Henty, G. A., Bravest of the Brave. 

Life in Queen Anne's Reign: Green, E. E., Tom Tufton's 
Travels; Tom Tufton's Toll; Thackeray, W. M., Esmond. 

Books for Teachers. Morris, E. E., The Age of Anne ; Seeley, 
J. R., The Expansion (f England. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

Period of the Stuart Kings, 1603-1714 

1. It must always be remembered that the early 
Stuart kings did not try to get more power than their 
predecessors the Tudor kings had had. It 

was parliament which tried to deprive them ^^^jfj^^^ 
of powers which the Tudor sovereigns had 
been exercising for more than a century. It was this 
which brouglit about the Civil War. James and his 
successor supported their claims to power by advancing 
a very old doctrine called the Theory of the Divine Right 
of Kings. According to this theory the king had his 
power from God, was responsible to Him alone, and the 
people had nothing to do with it. Parliament and Crom- 
well put an end to this theory for a time, but when 
Charles II. came back he put a man to death for assert- 
ing that kings were responsible to their subjects. James 
II. was exiled because he tried to put the theory of 
Divine Right into practice again, and when William and 
Mary came to the throne the power of the king was 
finally and definitely restricted by two documents called 
the Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement. By the 
first of these the king Avas not allowed to suspend or dis- 
pense with any laws, to levy taxes, or to have a standing 
army without the consent of parliament ; by the second 
the king was prevented from filling offices with foreign 
friends, from pardoning men impeached by parliament, 
and from removing judges from office at his own will. 

2. Parliament, which had been so weak under the 
Tudors and called to meet so seldom, now began to 



2o8 Period of the Stuart Kings 

assert its power. By the Great Protest of 1621 it de- 
clared that it was entitled to freedom of debate ; by the 
Petition of Right of 1628 it declared against 
taxation or the borrowing of money by the 
king without the consent of parliament; and by the 
Grand Remonstrance of 1641 it summed up what it con- 




Soldier with Musket and Crutch : from a broadside 

printed about 1630. 

(Showing the absence of almost all armor.) 

sidered to be its own rights and privileges and those of 
the citizens of England. In 1641 by the Triennial Act 
it declared that parliament should be summoned at least 
once in three years. As a result of the Civil War and 
of the Revolution of 1688, parliament became supreme 
over the king, and with few exceptions has continued 
to maintain its supremacy down to the present day. 

3. The Courts of Star Chamber and High Commission 
established by the Tudors, now become mere engines of 
despotism, were abolished by parliament in 1641 be- 



Period of the Stuart Kings 209 

cause of the tyrannical purposes for which they were 
used. The right of an imprisoned man to the writ of 
habeas corpus was so frequently violated by 
the king that in 1679 parliament passed the 
Habeas Corpus Act. By it a man who was seized and 
cast into prison might be brought before a judge within 
a short time to find out what charges there were against 
him and who his accusers were. 

4. The Anglican Church established by the Tudors, 
which persecuted Roman Catholics, Puritans, Separat- 
ists, Scotch Presbyterians (the last were also 

called Covenanters because they agreed to a 
certain document called a Covenant), and all others who 
did not belong to that Church, was as much a cause of 
the Civil War as was the tyranny of the king. Dur- 
ing the Commonwealth the episcopacy of the Anglican 
Church was abolished and the presbyterian system set 
up in its place, but when Charles II. returned the old 
system of church government was restored. James II. 
tried to bring back the Roman Catholic Church, but his 
deposition stopped tliat, and the English Established 
Church, or Anglican Church as it is called, remained 
the State Church. Church affairs had great influence 
on political parties. In the Civil War the Cavaliers 
were generally staunch members of the Episcopal 
Church, whereas the Roundheads were usually Puri- 
tans, Separatists, and Presbyterians. In time the Cava- 
liers became the Tories, and the Roundheads became the 
Whigs. The former still remained members of the An- 
glican Church, but many of the latter were Dissenters. 

5. Agriculture, which had been in such a poor state 
during the Tudor period, began to be profitable again 
when carried on w^ith improved implements 

on large farms. To get these farms the im- ^"^" 
portant landholders still resorted to the enclosure system, 
and small farmers, or yeomen as they were called, ceased 

U 



2IO 



Period of the Stuart Kings 



[1603- 



to exist as a class and became poorly paid agricultural la- 
borers. Agriculture, however, was not always profitable, 
for under Charles II. importation of grain was forbidden, 
and in 1688 a bounty was paid for its export — both 




Mowing Grass in the Eighteenth Century. 

(From Hearne's ' Ectypa Varia,^ 1737.) 

measures being designed to make the raising of grain 
more profitable. These acts were the beginning of the 
famous Corn Laws of England. 

6. Commerce with foreign lands was the field in 
which England made her greatest progress during this 
period. Various trading companies such as 
the Levant Company and the East India 
Company made very large profits. In 1651, to encour- 
age English commerce and destroy the monopoly in 
trade which the Dutch had enjoyed, parliament passed 
the Navigation Act providing that no foreign goods 
should be imported in any but English ships, or ships 
of the country from which the goods came. This aimed 
a deadly blov/ at what is called tlie carrying-trade of 
the Dutch. 



-1714.] Period of the Stuart Kings 211 

7. The export of raw wool, which for centuries had 
been gradually declining, was in 1660 prohibited. Eng- 
land now used all her raw wool to manu- 
facture cloth. This was now even dyed in Manufac- 

i tures. 

England and no longer sent to r landers to 

the Flemish dyers. The cloth, however, was not made 
in large factories such as we know, but was made by 
hand-looms in the workman's home. This way of man- 
ufacturing Avas known as the domestic system. Between 
the Avorkman and employer there was very little dif- 
ference in social position, for they were well known to 
each other and the employer like the workman worked 
with his own hands. Thousands of workmen made 
cloth on their own account and sold it to dealers, who 
marketed it at home or abroad at the great fairs. 

Summary. James I, preaches the Divine Right of Kings theory, 
but it is overthrown by parliament forever in 1688. ParHament 
becomes the supreme power in the land. The tyrannical courts of 
the Tudors are overthrown. The Habeas Corpus Act is passed. 
The growth of religious and political parties. The decline of the 
yeomen. Commerce and manufactures grow rapidly. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. When did enclosures 
begin? Find out from the dictionary what "corn" means in Eng- 
land. Explain the meaning of the word "presbyterian." Who 
were the Tudor sovereigns V 

Books for Teachers. (See 'Suggestions,' p. viii, — Feilden 
and Cheyney.) Montague, F. C, Elements of English Constitutional 
History ; Gibbins, H., Industrial History of England. 



Part VII. — The Hanoverian Kings. 
1714-1904 

CHAPTER XXXIII 
George I., 1714-1727 

1. George I. was more than fifty years of age when he 
became king. He knew nothing of England, and never 

even learned the English language. No one 
The long cared much for him, but Englishmen made 

Whig rule. , . , , . , . , . ^ , ^ 

hmi their king, as the only way 01 keeping 
out the Pretender. Under his rule the ministers could 
do almost what they liked, and so the system of Party 
Government which had begun witli William III. became 
fully established. The Tories lost their power and 
popularity. Both under George I. and his son, George 
II., none but Whigs became the king's ministers. , 

2. The friends of the Pretender were much disap- 
pointed at the peaceable accession of George I. In 1715 
The Jacobite ^^^^ stirred up a rebellion against the new 
revolt of king. Nothing much came of this in Eng- 
^^'^" land, but a serious revolt broke out in the 
Highlands of Scotland. In those days the Highlanders 
lived quite a different life from that of the rest of the 
Scots or Englishmen. They were divided into clans., or 
great families, and each of these clans was ruled by a 
chieftain. They cared nothing for the law, and were 
often fighting with each other or uniting to plunder 
the people of the Lowlands. When the mass of English- 
men and Scots had ceased to care for the Stuarts, the 



1727. 



George I. 



213 



Highlanders still remained their friends. They were 
splendid soldiers, and their fierce charge often threw 
the slow-moving regular soldiers of those days into utter 
confusion. In 1715, however, the Highlanders had a 
poor leader in the Earl of Mar. Befoi'e long the Pre- 
tender himself went to Scotland. But he was so dull 




George I. 

(From a Picture in the National Portrait Gallery : painted after Sir G. Kneller.) 



and desponding that he killed all enthusiasm for his 
cause. The disgusted Highlanders went home, and the 
Pretender quickly returned to France. 

3. Ever since the Peace of Utrecht the country had 
been very prosperous. Men were making much money 
in trade, and were looking out for good ways of getting 
a high interest for their savings. A great many people 
put their money into a company called the South Sea 



214 George I. 

Company. This company had been started to trade with 
South America, and soon flourished greatly. Its suc- 
cess encouraged other companies to try to 
The South gret people to buy their shares. Some of 

Sea Bubble, f , ^ ^ • "^ • n . 

these companies were mere swindles, and 

were soon found out. Then there followed a panic. 

The price of shares in all these companies went down 

suddenly. A great many people were ruined, and the 

whole country was plunged into deep distress. The 

South Sea Bubble, as it was called, had been blown out 

so big that it had burst. This happened in 1720. 

4. Some of those ruined by the South Sea Bubble 

found out that the king's ministers had been bribed by 

the South Sea Company. A great outcry 
Ministry. I'ose against them, and they were driven 

from office. Sir Robert Walpole was now 
made chief minister. He took such wise measures that 
the panic was soon at an end. He remained in office 
for more than twenty years. Long before his rule came 
to an end George I. died suddenly, in 1727. 

Summary. The Whigs being responsible for George I.'s acces- 
sion to the throne keep control of the government. The Preten- 
der's friends stir up a revolt in Scotland, but it does not succeed. 
The South Sea Bubble causes a financial panic, but Walpole comes 
to the rescue. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Who was the Pre- 
tender? What was the Peace of Utrecht? Where is the South 
Sea? What language did George I. speak? 

Jacobite Plots: Scott, Sir W., Roh Roy. 

Jacobite Revolt : Adams, H. C., In the Fifteen. 

Jacobites : Poynter, H. M., Madamscourt. 

Days of George I. and II. : Yonge, C. M., Lore and Life. 

South Sea Bubble: Ainsworth, W. H., The South Sea Bubble. 

Books for Teachers. Morris, E. E., The Early Hanoverians; 
Morley, J., Walj^ole. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 
George II., 1727-1760 

1. George 11. was a thorough German, but he knew 
more than his father about Enghmd. Before he became 
king he had been jealous of Walpole. He ^vvalpole 
was now wise enough to see that Walpole Prime 

was the best man to be his chief minister, and ^^^ster. 
kept him on in office. Walpole soon won so strong a posi- 
tion that all the other ministers were forced to obey him. 
He was the first ruler who was called Prime Minister. 
As long as Walpole remained in power he kept England 
at peace. Walpole was a very prudent statesman. 
Under him the people became so contented Avith the 
House of Hanover that the Jacobites had no chance of 
bringing back the Pretender. As Walpole grew old, 
however, there was a great outcry for war against Spain. 
The merchants complained that the Spaniards would 
not let them trade freely with the Spanish colonies in 
South America. Very unwillingly Walpole gave way 
to their clamor, and in 1739 declared war. He took 
little pains to carry it out vigorously. The outcry 
against him was renewed, and in 1742 he was driven 
from office. 

2. Before Walpole's fall the war with Spain had 
grown into a war with France also. The struggle Avas 
called the War of the Austrian Succession, r^^^ .^^^ ^^ 
England supported the claim of Maria the Austrian 
Theresa^ a young girl, to the Austrian throne, accession, 
while France and other powers wanted to divide her 
dominions between them. 



2i6 George II. [i727- 

3. One result of the war was that the Jacobites again 
rose in revolt against the House of Hanover. James, 
The Tacobite ^^^® ^^^ Pretender, was still alive, but the 
Revolt of real leader of the Jacobites was now his son, 
^745- Charles Edward^ called the Young Pretender. 

Charles Edward was good-looking, bright, and enthu si- 




Sir llobevt Walpole. 

(From the Picture by Vau Loo in the National Portrait Gallery.) 

astic, and a much better leader of men than his melan- 
choly father. In 1745 he landed in the Highlands. The 
Highlanders gave him a hearty welcome, and he was soon 
master of nearly all Scotland. His progress was 
the more rapid since most of the British army was 
abroad, waging war against the French. Those soldiers 
sent out against him fought very badly. At the battle 



.1760] George II. 217 

of Preston Pans, near Edinburgh, King George's troops 
ran away disgracefully from the fierce rush of the 
Highlanders' charge. 




George II. 

(From the Portrait by Thomas Hudson iu the National Portrait Gallery.) 

4. The Young Pretender saw that his best chance of 
succeeding was to be bold. He now invaded England, 
hoping to march to London and drive King ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ 
George from his throne. He advanced Derby, and 
through Cumberland, Lancashire, and Derby- ^^^^^^f^]^ °^ 
shire, as far as Derby ; but very few of the 
English joined him, and he dared not proceed further 
south. He retreated rapidly to Scotland, and was soon 
driven to the extreme north. At last, in 1746, he was 
defeated by the king's second son, the Duke of Ciunbcr- 



2i8 George II. [l727- 

land^ at Culloden Moor, near Inverness. The Highland 
revolt was now cruelly put down by Cumberland, who 
behaved so brutally that people called him the butcher. 
Charles Edward escaped to the Continent. He lived 
for many years more, but soon lost all influence. On 
his death, and that of his brother, the unfortunate 
House of Stuart came to an end. Henceforth the 
House of Hanover remained firmly establislied on the 
British throne. 

5. The period after the fall of Walpole was a dull 
time. The Whigs continued to govern the country. 
Newcastle Most of the Whig leaders were great noble- 
and the men or landlords. They cared very little 

igno es .j^i^Q^^ ^YiQ common people, and wanted to 
make as few changes as they could. They kept them- 
selves in power by bribery. Yet, Avith all their faults, 
they did not govern the country badly. They were 
clear-headed, sensible men of business, but there was 
nothing noble or inspiring about tliem. A good ex- 
ample of this class of statesmen was the Bake of Neiv- 
castle. He was a fussy, meddlesome, incompetent 
man. If he had not been a duke he would never have 
won a high position for himself. A man such as he 
was managed well enough in time of peace; but soon 
a great war was to break out, and Newcastle made 
it clear that he was not great enough to guide the 
fortunes of the country in troubled times. 

6. Fortunately, England had a far greater statesman 
than Newcastle. This was William Pitt. Pitt did not 

W'lr P"tt ^^^^^"^^ t^ ^^^® o^ ^^^® great Whig families, 
and was never a good man of business. He 
was wonderfully eloquent, high-minded, and patriotic. 
He was careless about money and his own interests, and 
had a lofty scorn for the bribers and wirepullers. He 
was extremely popular w4th tlie mass of Englishmen, 
who called him the Great Commoner. In a dull and 



-1760.] George II. 219 

selfish age he did for English politics what was being 
done for religion in England at the same time by John 
Wesley^ the famous founder of the Methodist movement. 
Unluckily, Pitt had not so much influence Avith the 
House of Commons as with the people. In those days 




The Right Hou. William Pitt, Paymaster of the Forces, 
afterwards Earl of Chatham. 

(From a Painting by Hoare.) 



the members of the House of Commons were chosen by 
very few electors. A great number of people had no 
votes for members of parliament, and many members 
owed their seats in parliament to the influence of great 
Whig nobles like Newcastle, who forced all the tenants 
on their estates to vote for the man they wanted. So 
it followed that, while Pitt had great power over the 



220 George II. [l727- 

people, Newcastle had more autliorit}^ over the parlia- 
ment. 

7. A war now broke out called the Seven Years^ 
War. It began with a struggle between the French 

_ , - and Eup-lish for mastery in two remote parts 
French ana " . 

Indian War of the world, America and India. We have 
in America. ^^^^ how, since the days of James I., the 
English had set up colonies on the eastern coast of 
North America. These were now thirteen in number 
and had become very prosperous. The French had also 
colonies in North America. The chief of these was 
Canada^ which lay along the great river St. Lawrence, 
while the next important was Louisiana^ which was 
situated on the Lower Mississippi. The Frencli now 
formed a scheme for joining Canada and Louisiana 
together, and thus shutting up the English on the east 
coast. A war, known as the French and Indian War^ 
thus broke out in the backwoods of America, and the 
French got the better of it in all the early fighting. 

8. There was a similar struggle between the English 
and French in India. Lip to this time India had been 
.^ . , ruled by native princes, and the English 
French in and French only went there as traders. The 
India. French joined with the native princes against 
the English, and soon pressed them very hard. Their 
ally, the Nabob of Bengal^ captured the English settle- 
ment of Calcutta. He shut up all his prisoners in a 
room called the Black Hole of Calcutta. In one hot 
night nearly all the prisoners perished from the heat 
and overcrowding. 

9. As the result of these troubles, war broke out in 
1756 between England and France. Newcastle was 

then Prime Minister, but was quite incom- 
Years' War. petcnt to carry on the war, and disasters 

fell upon the English in every part of the 
world. Newcastle made an alliance with Pitt, who 



-1760. 



George II. 



British 
\ French 
CZI Spanish 




WAtUt* 4 COCKEKCLL.OEL 



North America before the Seven Years' War (the French and 
Indian AVar). 



222 George II. [1727- 

joiiied with him in the ministr}^ in 1757. Pitt's faith, 
courage, and enthusiasm soon changed the whole face 
of affairs. He had a wonderful power of choosing the 




Robert Clive. 

(From the Original Painting by Nathaniel Dance, R.A., at Wolcot.) 

right men to lead the fleets and armies, and of inspiring 
them with his own belief in the greatness of England. 
He sent one of his favorite soldiers. General Wolfe^ to 
conquer Canada from the French. In 1759 a battle was 



-1760.] 



George II. 



?23 



fought outside Quebec^ the capital of Canada. Though 
Wolfe was slain in the fight, the French were utterly 
beaten, and all Canada was soon conquered. Equal 
success attended English arms in India. In 1757 
Robert Clive defeated the cruel Nabob of Bengal at the 
Battle of Flasseij. All Bengal was soon subdued, and 




A Coach of the Middle of the Eighteenth Century. 

thus the British Empire in India began. Warren Hast- 
ings^ who served under Clive, was made Governor Gen- 
eral in the next reign, but was so stern in his rule that 
he was impeached. Thanks to the genius of William 
Pitt, the Seven Years' War, which had begun so badly 
for England, had now become the most glorious and suc- 
cessful war that was fought since the days of Marlborough. 
It was still going on when George 11. died in 1760, and 
was succeeded by his grandson, George III. 



Summary. George II. leaves the government in the hands of 
Walpole. The War of the Austrian Succession. The Young Pre- 
tender fails to get the throne by the Jacobite Revolt of 1745. The 
Whigs govern the country even after the fall of AValpole. Pitt 
becomes the leader of the Whigs and carries on the Seven Years' 
War for the sake of England's power in Europe, America, and 
India. 



224 George II. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. When had Virginia, 
New England, and Carolina been settled? At what other times 
had England been at war with Spain ? Find out in the dictionary 
what the words " Whig" and " Tory " came from. 

Clive: Henty, G. A., With Clive in India. 

War with Spain : Fenn, G. M., In the King's Name ; Ned 
Ledger. 

Life of the Times : Marshall, E., The Master of the Musicians ; 
Fenn, G. M., The Devon Boys. 

Jacobite Revolt: Henty, G. A., Bonnie Prince Charlie: Scott, 
Sir W., Waverley: Stevenson, R. L., David Balfour; Adams, H. C, 
For James or George. 

Seven Years' VVar : Grant, J., Second to None. 

Books for Teachers. Morley, J., Walpole; Morris, E. E., 
Early Hanoverians ; Wilson, Sir Charles, C/iye; Lyall, Sir Alfred, 
Warren Hastings ; Seeley, J. R. , Expansion of England ; Macaulay, 
T. B., Essays. 



CHAPTER XXXV 
George III., 1760-1820 

1. George III. was born in England, and was proud of 
it. He was not very quick, but he was very persever- 
ing. He wanted to enjoy as much power Qgo^ge III. 
as the law allowed hiui. He saw how the and the 
Whigs under George I. and George II. had ^^^^s. 
taken away many of the powers that the king had once 
enjoyed. For that reason he hated the Whigs bitterly, 
and drove them from office as soon as he could. So 
blindly did he disUke the Whigs that he could not see 
that there was any difference between Pitt and New- 
castle. In fact, he was more afraid of Pitt than 
Newcastle, because Pitt was so much more liked by 
his people. He ended the war with France in 1763. He 
was in such a hurry to make peace that he did not win 
for Britain all that she might have got. Nevertheless, 
it was a very profitable peace for the country. By it 
England kept Canada and the chief power in India. 

2, George's chief desire was to choose his own minis- 
ters freely. Since the Revolution of 1688 the kings had 
gradually been forced to take as their minis- ^ ^.^^ 
ters the leaders of the party that was strong- at choosing 
est in the House of Commons. George J^Jf^^^grs. 
wished to go bpck to the earlier custom, and 

have whatever ministers he thought best. He went to 
work in a very clumsy way to carry out his ideas. But 
he took care to keep the Whigs out of office as much as 
he could. At last George found a minister to please 
him in Lord North, the first Tory Prime Minister since 

15 



Queen Anne's time. 
1770 to 1782. 



George III. [i760- 

North remained in power from 




George III. in 1767. 

(From a Painting by Allan Ramsay in the National Portrait Gallery.) 

3. The great event of Lord North's ministry was the 
revolt of the American colonies. The Seven Years' War 



-1820.] 



George III. 



227 




had cost England a great deal, and George thought that 
the Americans ought to pay something towards it. He 
therefore had caused to be passed a Stamp Revolt of the 
Act in the British parliament which called American 
on the Americans to pay certain stamp duties 
to the English government. The Americans were very 
angry at this. They said that they ought not to be taxed 
by the British parliament, because 
they sent no members to it. They 
raised such an outcry that the law 
taxing America was repealed. Be- 
fore this was done grave troubles 
had taken place. The Americans 
levied troops, and rose in revolt 
against King George. War broke 
out in 1775, and immediately af- 
terwards the Americans issued a 
Declaration of Independence. In 
this tliey declared that they would 
be no longer subjects of King 
George. The thirteen colonies all 
joined together, and took the name of the United States 
of America. 

4. Many people in England had sj^mpathized with the 
Americans when they resisted the new taxes. Among 
these was William Pitt, who had now become Chatham 
Earl of Chatham. He rejoiced that America and 
had resisted George IH., just as John Hamp- 
den had stood out against Charles I. The whole blame 
of the war, however, did not rest with George. Some of 
the American leaders were anxious from the beginning 
to be independent of England. Chatham grew very an- 
gry when he saw that the result of this was likely to be 
the break-up of the British Empire. He was still more 
indignant when France, Spain, and other old enemies of 
England took up the cause of the Americans and de- 



One of the Stamps as ap- 
pointed to he used under 
George lll.'s American 
Stamp Act. 



America. 



228 George III. [i760- 

clared war. With his dying breath he declared that the 
British Empire, which he had done so much to make, 
should not be rent asunder. After his death there was 
no hope that the Americans and British could remain 
united. When the British colonists in the thirteen 
states thus threw off all allegiance to the old country, 
the French of Canada remained loyal to King George, so 
that Canada still remained a British possession. 

5. England had now to face both the Americans and 
half Europe as well. George III. and Lord North did 

their best against all these enemies. They 
independ- were not, liowcver, able to carry on the w^ar 
ence ac- with the same spirit that Chatham had shown 

during the Seven Years' War. For a time 
England even lost the command of the seas, but a great 
admiral arose in Rodney^ whose victories over the French 
made England mistress of the ocean once more. The 
war in America went on badly for the mother countr}^ 
Two English armies were forced to surrender to the 
Americans. When peace was made in 1783 England 
was forced to acknowledge the independence of the 
United States. 

6. Lord North resigned office before the war was 
over. After a period of great trouble the king found 

in 1783 another minister whom he could 
of the^^"^^ ^^ trust. This was William Pitt, the second 
younger son of the great Lord Chatham. Pitt the 

younger was only twenty-four when George 
made him his Prime Minister. He was not such a gen- 
ius as his father, but he was eloquent, clear-headed, and 
business-like. He could work with others much better 
than his father had done. Lie made himself trusted by 
the people as well as by the king. Now that George 
had made Pitt his minister he could defy the Whig 
lords. Pitt remained in office from 1783 to 1801, and 
then only resigned because he disagreed with the king. 



-1820.] George III. 229 

Pitt was generally called a Tory, though his views were 
very much like those of his father, who had always been 
called a Whig. With North and Pitt began a long pe- 
riod of Tory rule, ^A'liich lasted longer than the reign of 




William Pitt the Younger. 

George HI. Pitt's chief rival was the Whig leader, 
Charles James Fox. Fox was a fine speaker, and was 
good-tempered and generous. He was, however, rather 
too fond of his party, and had made himself unpopular 
by upholding the Americans. He never had such a 
large number of followers in parliament as Pitt had. 
Besides that, George disliked him very much, so that 
he had little chance of holding office. 

7. England was changing very quickly during Pitt's 
ministry. For the first time it w^as becoming a great 



230 George III. [l760- 

manufacturing country. Till now Britain had been a 
land of farmers and merchants. Some wonderful ma- 
chines were now invented which made it 
becomes a possible to make goods more quickly and 
manufactur- ^^ore cheaply than in the days when yarn 

ing country. 11^1 i 1 i t%t 

was spun and cloth Avoven by hand. More- 
over, the steam-engine was for the first time made use of 
to drive all sorts of machines. Good hard roads were 
everywhere built, and deep canals cut. By means of 
these, manufactured goods could be taken easily and 
cheaply from the factory to the place where they could 
be sold. For many years things looked very prosperous. 
Great towns now arose wherever there was coal or iron. 
More money was made in England and more people lived 
in it. Much trouble, however, arose in consequence of 
all these changes. There were many more poor, and 
they were badly looked after. Wages were low, and 
many men were often out of work. Neither masters 
nor men in the manufacturing districts had any voice 
in electing members of parliament. The workmen in 
factories were often very miserable. 

8. In 1789 the French Revolution broke out across 
the Channel. Up to this time France had been ruled by 

despotic kings, and the people had been very 
RevoTuTiSn^ ^^^^^J treated. At last things fell into such 

a desperate state that something had to be 
done. The French king was forced to summon a sort 
of parliament of his people. This body, like the Long 
Parliament, took everything into its own hands. It set 
up a constitutional government something like that of 
England ; but the new system would not work. Before 
long the extreme men got to the head of affairs. They 
beheaded the king and queen and set up a Republic. 
Thousands of Frenchmen were put to death. A time 
set in so full of horrors that it was called the Reign of 
Terror. The fierce rulers of France now offered to help 



1820.] George III. 231 

all nations who wished to follow the example of the 
French and overthrow their kings. 

9. In 1793 England went to war against the French. 
England and France remained at war for more than 
twenty years, with only one short peace of a j,^^ ^^^^ 
few months. It was a most desperate strug- war against 
gle. Pitt was not so snccessfnl a war min- ^'■^^^^• 
ister as his father, and the French gained many victories. 
Lnckily, England was more successful by sea than by 
land. Her victories at sea alone prevented the French 
from crossing the Channel and invading England. The 
danger grew worse as time went on. At last the most 
brilliant of the French generals, Napoleon Bonaparte^ 
overthrew the French Republic and made himself Em- 
peror. He forced not only France, but nearly all Europe, 
to obey him. He gathered together a great army along 
the north coast of France, and tried hard to entice the 
British navy away from the Channel, so that he might 
cross over into England. The English fleet was com- 
manded by Lord Nelson, the greatest of all English 
admirals. Nelson was quite able to withstand all Napo- 
leon's tricks. At last, in 1805, he fell upon the French 
navy and utterly destroyed it in the Battle of Trafalgar^ 
off the southwest coast of Spain. Nelson himself w^as 
killed during the fight, but he had already won the vic- 
tory. From that time onward England had such com- 
plete power over the seas that she was in no serious 
danger of invasion. 

10. A little before the Battle of Trafalgar, Pitt per- 
suaded Austria and Russia to go to war against Napoleon. 
However, the French emperor was com- 
pletely successful against them. At last he successes, 
made an alliance with Russia. It was agreed 

that the Emperor of Russia should do what he liked in 
the East, while the Emperor of the French was allowed 
to do what he liked in the West. A little before this 



232 George III. [l760- 

alliance, Pitt died, in 1806, worn out with anxiety. 
Though he had made man}^ mistakes, he never lost heart. 




Lord Nelson. 



England owes him much for the steadiness with which 
he kept up the great conflict against Napoleon. 

11. Pitt had to fight not only against the French 
abroad, but also against many people in England who 



-1820.] George III. 233 

were friends of the French Revolution and of Napoleon. 
The new manufacturing towns in the north were full 
of ignorant and sufferincr men who wished _. 

Pitt prevents 

to follow the example of the French ; but changes in 
Pitt put them all down with a firm hand. England. 
Men called him the pilot that weathered the storm of 
the Revolution. England, however, was too well off to 
make it likely that she would act as the French had 
done. Unluckily, tlie fear of the French Revolution 
made men afraid to make any changes at all. Pitt, like 
his father, had once been in favor of reforming the way 
in which parliament was elected. Now, however, there 
was no chance of this being carried out, since so many 
feared that any reform would lead to revolution. I-,ong 
after Napoleon had overthrown the revolutionary move- 
ment in France, people in England were still afraid of 
its teachings. 

12. Pitt had a great deal of trouble in Ireland. Since 
Ireland had been conquered by William III. it had been 
very harshly ruled by the English. Things ^^^ revolt 
had become better during the reign of George of 1798 in 
III. Many of the cruel laws against the . ^^^i^nd. 
Roman Catholics were repealed, and the Irish Parliament 
was given greater power than it had had in earlier days. 
None but Protestants, however, could sit in the Dublin 
parliament, and none but Protestants were allowed to 
hold offices in the Irish government. This kept the 
Catholics very dissatisfied, and at last, in 1798, they rose 
in revolt. The rebellion Avas the more dangerous since 
England was busily engaged in fighting the French. 
However, it was successfully stamped out, and Ireland 
was once more reduced to peace. 

13. Pitt saw that it was no longer possible to allow 
the Irish Protestants to go on ruling Ireland as they 
liked. He brought forward a scheme for uniting Ire- 
land to Great Britain, just as England and Scotland 



234 



George III. 



[1760- 




5. The Union Jack. 
(Great Britain and Ireland.) 




3. Great Britain. 
(= England and Scotland.) 




4. Ireland. 



The Union Flag. 

(Showing how the flags of England, Scotland, and Ireland were combined to form 
the " Uuiou Jack.") 



-1820.] George III. 235 

had been united. The Irish Protestants were very angry 
at this, since the Dublin parliament was in their hands ; 
but the Irish Catholics were either careless j,^^ union of 
about the scheme or in favor of it. Pitt Great Britain 
tried to win the Catholics over by prom- ^""^ Iceland, 
ising that when the union had been carried the Cath- 
olics should be allowed to sit in parliament and act as 
ministers. Then he had the Act of Union passed in 
1800. The Irish Parliament hated the plan, but was 
bribed into consenting to it. It now ceased to exist ; 
but Irish peers and Irish members of the House of 
Commons were henceforth allowed to sit in the united 
parliament of the three kingdoms at Westminster. 

14. Unhappily George III. prevented Pitt from cariy- 
ing out his scheme in favor of freeing the Roman Catho- 
lics, which was called Catholic Emancipation. 

. Pitt s 

The king declared that he had promised, resignation. 

when he had been crowned, to uphold the 
Protestant Church. For this reason George believed 
that he would break his coronation oath if he granted 
Catholic Emancipation. Pitt was much disgusted, and 
resigned office in 1801. The Catholics felt that they 
were tricked, and soon got to dislike the Union. Bat 
the blame of this does not belong to Pitt, but to the 
king. Pitt remained out of office until he was called 
back to power to carry 011 the great war against Napo- 
leon. We have seen how he threw all his energies into 
this task, and how nobly he died fighting at his post. 

15. On Pitt's death his old rival. Fox, became Prime 
Minister, despite the king's hatred of him. Fox had 
foolishly objected to the war against Napo- 

leon; but when he became minister he saw Tory rule, 
that it could not be helped, and did his best 
to wage it successfully. Within a few months Fox 
followed Pitt to the grave. George soon got rid of Fox's 
Whig followers, and again made the Tories his ministers. 



236 George III. [l760- 

The Tories remained in office for the rest of George's 
reign. They were not so wise as Pitt had been, and 
their rule was not very successful, although they did 
good service by constantly fighting the French emperor. 
Master of the Continent, Napoleon Avished also to be 
conqueror of England ; but even when fighting single- 
handed against the great despot, Britain's command of 
the sea enabled her to hold her own. 

16. After 1808 the British began to fight successfully 
against Napoleon by land as well as by sea. In that 
The J^^^^ Napoleon had offended the proud Span- 
Peninsular ish people by making his brother, Joseph 

^^' Bonaparte^ King of Spain. The Spaniards 

would not receive Joseph, and England sent an army to 
help them. Its general was Arthur WeMesley^ who soon 
won such great victories over the French that he was 
made D^ike of Wellington. From 1808 to 1814 he 
carried on what was called the Peninsular War against 
the French emperor. It was so called because it was 
fought in the peninsula which is taken up by the king- 
doms of Spain and Portugal. In this war, though he 
gained nearly every battle he fought, Wellington was 
often very hard pressed by the French, and generally 
had to retreat after each victory. He kept up his 
troops' courage, and was always ready to fight again. 
He was the greatest English general since Marlborough. 

17. In 1812 Napoleon quarrelled with Russia, and 
invaded that country. But when winter came he was 

forced to retreat, and lost nearly all his 
The fall of army. This Russian disaster was the begin- 
apo eon. j-^^^^g ^f ^]^q f^n ^f Napoleou. The nations 
that he had so long kept in slavery now rose against 
him, and in 1814 he was forced to resign his empire and 
go into banishment to the little island of Mba, off the 
coast of Tuscany in Italy. He was too restless to stay 
there long:. In 1815 he returned to France and was re- 



-1820. 



George III. 



237 



stored to power. All Europe had now united to put 
down the great despot, and armies were collecting all 
round France. Na})oleon fell suddenly upon the army 
which had assembled in the Netherlands, which con- 
tained a large number of British troops, and of which 
Wellington was tlie general. After a fierce fight, Well- 




The Duke of Wellinuton. 



ington defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo. The 
French emperor was once more driven from power, and 
spent the rest of his life a prisoner in the small British 
island of St. Helena^ in the southern Atlantic. 

18. Napoleon, by his Berlin and Milan Decrees^ and 
England, by her Orders in Council^ had done great injury 
to American commerce. England had also exercised a 
right of search on American vessels and taken from 



23S 



George III. 



[1760- 



them certain sailors said to be Englishmen. As a result 

the United States declared war against England in 

1812 and did a great deal of damage to the 

War with Eng^lisli navv and merchant ships. On land 

America. ° ^ i i • 

the war did not amount to much, being 
mainly on the Canadian frontier. The English were 
defeated in an attempt to take New Orleajis, and the war 
was closed by tJie Treaty of Ghent in 1 814 — really be- 
fore the battle of New Orleans was fought. 

19. George III. died in 1820, after a reign of sixty 
years. In 1810 he had become insane, and his eldest 
Death of SOU, George, became ruler of England with 
George III. the title of Prince Regerd. On the old king's 
death the regent became George IV. 





Napoleon's Medal struck to commemorate the Invasion of England 
which never took place. 

[(From a Cast in the British Museum.) 



Summary. George III. tries to rule independently of Minis- 
ters, and loses the American colonies. England becomes a manu- 
facturing country, and engages in war against France to preserve 
the balance of power and protect her own interests. Ireland revolts, 
and is united to England by the Act of Union. England attacks 
Napoleon's power in Spain, and is largely responsible for his final 
defeat at Waterloo. George III. is insane during the latter part of 
his reign, and the government is under a Regency. 



-1820.] George III. 239 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. Who was John Hamp- 
den? Explain why it was that neitlier masters nor men in the 
manufacturing districts had any voice in electing members of par- 
liament. What was the Long Parliament? 

War with France and Spain : Henty, G. A., Held Fast for 
England. 

War with France: " Colling wood, H.," Log of a Privateersman. 

Sea Fights : Kingston, W. H. G., From Powder Monkey to 
Admiral. 

American Revolution : Henty, G. A., True to the Old Flag ; 
Kingston, W. H. G., Hurricane Harry. 

Nelson: Eden, C. H., Afloat with Nelson; Henty, G. A., At 
Ahoukir and Acre; Kingston, W. H. G., The Fire Ships. 

Nelson at the Nile : Pickering, E., In Press Gang Days. 

Peninsular War: Fortescue, J. W., The Drummer's Coat; 
Henty, G. A., The Young Buglers; With Moore at Corunna; 
Under Wellington's Command. 

Waterloo: Henty, G. A., One of the 28th. 

Life of the Times: Clarke, Mrs. H., A Lad of Devon; Mar- 
shall, E., Bristol Diamonds ; On the Banks of the Ouse. 

Schools : Adams, H. C, School Days at Kingscourt. 

Machinery Troubles: Henty, G. A., Through the Fray. 

Books for Teachers. Rosebery, Lord, Pitt; Russell, C, Nel- 
son; Hannay, D., Rodney ; Hooper, G., Wellington. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 
George IV., 1820-1830, and William IV., 1830-1837 

1. George IV. was a bad man and a feeble king. 
One good thing came from his weakness. He was not 

persevering enough to keep in his hands the 
George*iv° power which George III. had won back for 

the Crown. The consequence was that the 
ministers again became appointed by parliament rather 
than by the King. 

2. The Tories remained in power all through the 
reign of George IV. The Tories were not, however, 

all of the same mind. Most of their chief 
Canmng. ministers were opposed to all reforms, but 

some of the Tories had learned the more 
liberal teaching of William Pitt. Their leader was the 
brilliant George Cannijig, who gradually obtained a 
large share of power. A great many useful and wise 
changes were then carried out by Canning and his 
friends. Cainiing was instrumental in getting President 
Monroe of the United States to issue a message in which 
were embodied the principles of the now famous Monroe 
Doctrine. It was to the effect that the American con- 
tinents had ceased to be fields for European colonization 
or interference. Canning soon died, and then power 
went to the Duke of Wellington, who, like Marlborough 
before him, was a prominent statesman as well as a 
famous soldier. 

3. Wellington was very old-fashioned in his notions, 
and had been no frieud of Canning and the Liberal 
Tories. He had always opposed Catholic Emancipation, 



George IV. and William IV. 



241 



while Canning, like Pitt, had been in favor of it. A 
great outcry now arose in Ireland in favor of giving 
the Roman Catholics equal rights with the catholic 
Protestants. A very vigorous and able Cath- Emanci- 
olic Irish lawyer, named Daniel 0' Connelly pation. 
put himself at the head of this agitation. At last it 




George IV. 

(From an unfinished Portrait by Lawrence in the National Portrait Gallery.) 

looked as if the Irish Catholics would rise in rebellion 
if their claims were not granted. Wellington knew what 
a terrible thing war was, and thouglit it better to give 
the Catholics what they were asking for than run the 
risk of provoking a revolt. In 1829 he carried through 

16 



242 George IV. and William IV. [l820- 

an Act of Parliament which allowed Roman Catholics 
to sit in parliament and become the king's ministers. 

4. George IV. died in 1830. As he had no children, 
his brother William became King William IV. Just 
The begin- before George's death the first railways 
nings of worked by steam-engines were opened for 
anTi^ii-^^^ traffic. Steam-engines had long been used 
ways. for pumping and for working machinery. 
They had now been employed for about twenty years 
for making ships travel independently of the wind. 
Now the loco7notive steam-e7igine was invented, and soon 
became as important as the steamship. The first really 
important railway was that between Liverpool and Man- 
chester, which was opened in 1830. Railroads and 
steamships soon became very common. They made it 
easier, quicker, and cheaper to move passengers and 
goods from one place to another. Britain was the 
place where they were first largely used. They enabled 
the country to take even a greater share in the trade of 
the world than it had gained already in the days of the 
younger Pitt. 

5. William IV. was a good-natured and well-meaning 
king, though he was not very wise, and was very un- 
dignified. The great event of his short 

The need - s- xi ^ ^ 

for reform reign 01 seven years was the rejorm of 
of parlia- parliament. Though everything in England 
had chanoed so much, the House of Com- 
mons was still elected as it had been hundreds of years 
before. Each English county returned two members, 
whether it was large and rich, or small and poor. Many 
great towns, such as Manchester and Birmingham, did 
not send members to parliament at all, though many 
very small places returned two members each. The 
worst of these were called rotten boroughs, and some of 
them were not even villages. Very few people had 
votes at elections, and the new manufacturing districts 



-1837.] George IV. and William IV. 243 

were hardly represented at all. Ever since the begin- 
ning of George III.'s reign there had been a cry for 
parliamentary reform, and both of the William Pitts had 
supported it. For a long time, however, people were so 
afraid of the French Revolution that they feared to 
make any changes at all, lest moderate reforms should 
pave the way to an English Reign of Terror. 

6. Under George IV. the Whigs took up the cry for 
parliamentary reform. Wellington, the Prime Minister, 
said that things were best as they were. But 

the country had long been in a bad state, Bm^ssedT 
and many people believed that everything 
would go right if reform of parliament Avere granted. 
After William became king the Whigs once more 
became the larger party in the House of Commons, and 
drove Wellington from power. Thus ended the fifty 
years of Tory rule. The Whigs became ministers. 
In 1832 they carried through the first Reform Act. 
This famous Bill abolished the rotten boroughs, gave 
members to all the great towns, and increased the 
number of members in the larger counties. The num- 
ber of voters became much larger, though the reformers 
were afraid to give votes to many workingmen. The 
Bill cut down the power of the landlords and gave great 
authority to the middle classes. 

7. The Whigs remained in power for the rest of 
William IV.'s reign. They carried out many other use- 
ful reforms besides the Reform Bill. By one .u v.- r 

'^ Abolition 01 

of these new laws all slaves within the negro 
British Empire were set free. Up to this ^ ^'^^^y- 
time the sugar plantations in the English colonies of the 
West Indies had been tilled by negro slaves^ who had 
been stolen from their homes in Africa and sold to 
masters, who forced them to work for them. Thirty 
years before this the slave-trade^ as it was called, had been 
abolished, and those who brought fresh negroes from 



244 George IV. and William IV. 

Africa were severely punished. Now the negroes them- 
selves were made free men. 

8. Before William IV. died the Whigs had got quite 
tired of making changes, and the people were beginning 
Peel and the ^^ ^^^^ faith in them. The Tories had made 
Conserva- themselves very unpopular by opposing 
^^^^^' parliamentary reform. They now had a 

very honest and prudent leader in S'ir Robert Peel^ a 
Lancashire manufacturer's son. He cleverly took 
advantage of the mistakes of the Whigs, and gradually 
won over the support of the new voters. As the name 
Tory still had an evil sound, because of what it had 
meant before 1832, Peel called himself and his followers 
Conservatives. The Whigs also began to drop their old 
name, and preferred to be called Liberals. They were 
still in office when William IV. died in 1837, and was 
succeeded by his niece, Queen Victoria, the daughter of 
his brother, the Duke of Kent. 

Summary. George IV. is a feeble king. The Tories under 
Canning and Wellington control the government. Catholics are 
allowed to sit in parliament and be king's ministers. Steamships 
and railways are introduced. The Reform Bill is passed and negro 
slavery is abolished. The Whigs take the name of Liberals, and 
the Tories that of Conservatives. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. When had the Catho- 
lics lost the right to sit in parliament and to be king's ministers ? 
What American invented the first steamboat ? Review those por- 
tions of the book which relate to parliament. 

Sea Fights: Henty, G. A., With Cochrane the Dauntless. 

Reform Agitation: Marshall, E-, Under the Mendips ; Lawson, 
E. M., Through Tumult and Pestilence. 

Life of the Times : Marshall, E., In Four Reigns. 

Books for Teachers. Macarthy, J., Epoch of Reform; Hooper, 
G., Wellington; Thursfield, J. ^., Peel. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

Victoria, 1837 igoi 

1. Queen Victoria was only eighteen years old. 

She was very anxious to do what was right, and 

worked hard at fittino- herself for her oreat ^, ^ 

'^ ^ The Queen 

post. She had inherited some of the firm- and Prince 
ness of her grandfather, George III., and -^^tjert. 
took good care that her influence as queen should be 
felt. She married her cousin, Prince Albert, who 
proved a good and loving husband, and a wise 
counsellor to her. She carefull}^ kept herself above 
parties, and had all the more power because she had no 
private ends to serve, but devoted herself to the welfare 
of her people. All through her reign the people were 
steadily winning more power in the government of the 
country. Yet they had such trust in the goodness of 
the queen that they regarded her with great affection, 
and were glad she was the head of the British State. 

2. The state of the country was much disturbed 
in the early years of the queen's reign. In Ireland 
there was a great outcry against the Union. 
O'Connell, who was still the chief Irish and^^^ ^^^ 
leader, headed in Parliament a party called Chartists. 
Bepeahrs, ^vho demanded a repeal of tlie Union. In 
England the state of the people was very bad. Wages 
were low, and food was dear. This was all the more 
disappointing, since better times had been hoped for 
after the Reform Bill had been passed. A party now 
arose called tlie Chartists. The Chartists had great 



246 Victoria [l837- 

influence over the workmen in the towns. They drew 
up a plan for a more thorough-going reform of parUa- 
ment, which they called the People's Charter. They 
got their name of Chartists from their demand for this 
People's Charter. In the end neither Repealers nor 
Cliartists carried things as they wished. 

3. One of tlie chief causes of the distress among the 
people was the high price of bread. This was due to 

what were called the Corn Laws. In Eng- 
Corn-Law land com is a general term for wheat and 
League. other grains. Foreign grain was only al- 

lowed to enter the country when a heavy duty on it 
had been paid. The Corn Laws had been passed in 
order to help the British farmers, but they worked great 
injury to the manufacturing classes. People began to 
think that this tax kept the price of food so high that 
it did more harm than good. Richard Cohden and others 
started a society which aimed at getting rid of the tax 
on bread. It was called the Anti-Corn-Laiv League. 

4. The Whiof Government was afraid of all these 
movements. The Whig Prime Minister was a slack 

and careless man who was fond of saying, 
Miniftry^ " Can't you leave things alone ? " His weak- 
ness made him lose power. At last, in 1841, 
the Whigs were beaten at a new election. The Con- 
servatives now drove them from power, and formed a 
strong ministry under their leader, Sir Robert Peel. 

5. Peel remained minister from 1841 to 1846. He 
governed the country very wisely, and put the money 

affairs of the State into good order. He was 
Corn Laws, rather stiff and slow, but thoroughly honest. 

He did not mind changing his opinions if 
facts showed him that his views were wrong. He had 
always upheld the Corn Laws, but now experience 
taught him what distress flowed from the high price 
of food. A terrible disaster in Ireland proved to him 



-1901.] 



Victoria 



247 



that the high bread-tax could not be kept up. Though 
the Irish were crying for repeal of the Union, the real 
thing that made Ireland so discontented was the poverty 
of its people. The land was tilled by very small farmers, 
who paid such huge rents that they had little left to 
live on. They had mainly lived on potatoes, because 




Sir Robert Peel. 
(From the Bust by Noble in the National Portrait Gallery.) 



potatoes were the cheapest food they could get. A 
disease of the potatoes now made them unfit to be 
eaten. The result was that Ireland was made miserable 
by a grievous famine. 

6. Peel saw that food could not be taxed when 
millions of people were starving. In 1846 he carried 
through parliament an act which aboUshed the Corn 



248 Victoria [1837- 

Laws, and brought in Free Trade in bread. The land- 
lords and farmers had supported Peel earlier, because 
they believed he would keep up the Corn 
?o?n Laws^.^ Laws. Now they cried out that they had 
been betrayed. Peel could only carry his 
Bill with the help of the Whigs or Liberals. Some of 
his old supporters opposed him very bitterly. They were 
called the Protectionists^ because they believed in pro- 
tecting English agriculture by duties. Their leader was 
Benjamin Disraeli^ a Jew by birth, who was very clever 
and brilliant, but strange in his dress and ways. Soon 
after the repeal of the Corn Laws Disraeli joined with 
the Whigs and drove Peel from office. 

7. It was nearly thirty years before the Conservatives 
again got a majority in the House of Commons. During 
TD V* o. most of this time the Liberals were in 

Peelites, Pro- 
tectionists, power. Their ranks were strengthened by 
and Whigs, ^j^g ^^^ Whigs being joined by those friends 
of Peel who had remained on his side after the revolt 
of the Protectionists. These were called the Peelites. 
The most important of them was William Eivart Glad- 
stone, the son of a Liverpool merchant. Peel died soon 
after his fall from power. Gladstone was as able a 
manager of the nation's finance as Peel had been. He 
had learned from Peel to believe in Free Trade, and 
now proposed and carried laws which did away with 
most of the duties which still upheld Protection. Soon 
every one was for Free Trade. After a few years, 
quarrels among the Liberals made Disraeli minister for 
a short time. As soon as he came into power he too 
gave up his idea of Protection. He and his followers 
now made up the Conservative party. The Peelites 
joined with the Whigs to form the Liberal party. The 
most popular among the Whigs was Lord Palmerston. 
He was more than once minister for foreign affairs, and 
did much to make England respected and feared abroad. 



1901.] Victoria 249 

He did not care about making many changes at home. 
He was easy-going and flippant, and took much less 
serious views of things than the grave and earnest 
Gladstone. Though they often sat in the same min- 
istry, they had no love for each other. 

8. Between 1854 and 1856 England was at war with 
Russia. She had as her ally her old eneaiy France, 
which was now ruled by Napoleon III., a 
nephew of the Great Napoleon. Both wa^.^""'^^'' 
England and France were alarmed at the 
p]"ogress made by Russia in the East. In particular 
they were afraid that Russia would conquer Turkey 




Map to illustrate the Crimean War. 



and its capital, Constanfinople. Turkey was not like 
the other countries in Europe. The mass of its in- 
habitants were Christians, but all power was in the 
hands of the Turks themselves, who were Mohamme- 
dans from Asia. The Turks were splendid soldiers, 
but cruel and careless rulers. They treated their 
Christian sul)jects very badly, and Russia had long 
helped the Christians of the East against their Turkish 
tyrants. England and France now supported the Turks 
against the Russians. They sent an army to the 
Crimea, a peninsula belonging to Russia, which runs 



250 Victoria [i837- 

into the northern part of the Black Sea. There the 
Russians had built a great fortress, called Sebastopol, 
which the allies besieged. The war that followed was 
called the Crimean War, The English and French 
forces were not strong enough to capture Sebastopol 
easily. The siege lasted all through the winter, which 
proved an uncommonly severe one. The generals were 
incapable, and the troops were shamefully neglected. 
The sufferings from cold, hunger, and disease were much 
worse than those inflicted by the Russian bullets. At 
last Sebastopol was captured, and peace made in 1856. 

9. In 1857 a trouble even worse than the Crimean 
War fell upon the Empire. This trouble was called 

the Indian Mutinif. Since the days of Olive 
Mutiny. ^^^ the British had gradually conquered a very 

large part of India. The army which up- 
held England's power consisted largely of Sepoys^ or 
native Indian troops. In 1857 many of these Sepoys 
rose in mutiny, and committed all sorts of dreadful 
deeds. Luckily, however, some of the Sepoys remained 
faithful, and the few Englishmen who ruled India 
showed wonderful courage and skill. At last the mutiny 
was put down. 

10. The ministers had been sadly to blame for the 
sufferings of the soldiers in the Crimea. They were 

driven from office, and lost a good deal of 
Pafmerston. I'Gputatiou. Palmerston alone came well out 

of the war. He became Prime Minister, and 
was nearly always in office until he died, a very old 
man, in 1865. 

11. During Palmerston's last ministry the great Civil 
War in the United States broke out between the free 
^. ., ,„ . states of the North and the slave-holdino^ 

Civil War in <• i <-* 7 rr^i i ^ 

America. states 01 the South. I he upper classes and 

the Government of England generally favored 

the South, whereas the working classes, though they 



•1901.] 



Victoria 



251 



suffered most by the cutting off of the cotton supply, 
generally favored the North. War between the North 
and England almost broke out when the North seized 




Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield. 

some Southern envoys from the British steamer Trent. 
The anger of the North was aroused when the English 
Government allowed a war vessel (2%6' Alabama), bought 



252 



Victoria 



[1837- 



in England by the South, to escape to sea, and subse- 
quently England had to pay damages (the Alabama 
Claims) for the many ships which the Alabama had 
captured. 

12. So long as Palmerston lived he kept Gladstone 
in check. After his death Gladstone became the real 




William Kwart (ilaastoiie. 



leader of the Liberal party, and at once prepared the 
Gi d ^^^^ "^^^ ^ series of great changes. Dis- 

and raeli, the Conservative leader, opposed him 

Disraeh. ^g j^^g^ j^^ could; but Gladstone was al- 
ways in office, except in 1867, when a quarrel among 
the Liberals gave the Conservatives a chance of holding 
power for a short time. Disraeli was anxious to show 
that he was not afraid of the people. So he caused to 



-1901.1 Victoria 



253 



be passed, in 1867, tlie Second Reform Act^ which gave 
votes to nearly all the workmen who happened to live 
in boroughs. However, he could not keep his power 
after the election. 

13. Gladstone was made Prime jMinister in 18(38, and 
began to carry through a large number of sweeping- 
reforms. He strove to make Ireland more ^, , 

T-i 1 /. Gladstone s 

contented by two new laws. By the nrst first 
he took away from tlie Protestant Church ^^i^istry. 
in Ireland its position as a privileged State church and 
also a great deal of its property. This was called the 
DisestabUi<hme)it and J)ise)Ldowment of the Irish Church. 
Gladstone's second new measure was an Irish Land 
Laa\ Avhich was to make the Irisli farmers better off 
and more independent of their landlords. In a few 
years Gladstone had made so many changes that people 
began to wish to rest for a little. 

14. Disraeli now had his chance. In 1871 the elec- 
tions gave him a majority, and he became Prime Minis- 
ter. He held office till 1880, and took great 

pains to make England's influence more felt ^[Tni^try^ 
abroad. During these days the Russians 
were again at war with the Turks, and Disraeli was 
accused of wishing to help the Turks against the Rus- 
sians. He managed to make peace between Turks and 
Russians, but the peace took away from the Turks a 
great deal of their territor}-. This region did not, how- 
ever, go to Russia, but the Christians dwelling in it 
were allowed to govern themselves. Still, the Turks 
kept Constantinople and a large amount of land in 
Europe. Since that contest other wars have broken 
out from time to time, Avhich show that what is called 
the Eastern Question can liardly be settled except by 
driving the Turks out of Europe. In the course of this 
war, Gladstone made very eloquent speeches against the 
Turks, and declared that Disraeli had done what he 



254 Victoria [1837- 

could to keep up their cruel rule. The voters turned 
against Disraeli at the next election in 1880, and sent a 
Liberal majority to parliament, (xladstone was once 
more made Prime Minister, and the next year Disraeli 
died. He had shown great patience and skill in teach- 
ing the Conservatives that they must trust the people, 
and had done much towards promoting tlie greatness of 
the British Empire. 

15. Gladstone's second ministry was a very troubled 
one. There were great difficulties in Eijypt^ whose 

ruler had become so extravagant tliat he 
^"ff F^^ had to be deposed. Now, Egypt was veiy 

important to England, because there had 
lately been dug a ship canal through the Isthmus of 
Suez. The way through the Suez Canal became the 
quickest road to India, and it was dangerous to Eng- 
land not to have control over it. The British therefore 
took possession of Egypt, but they soon found that they 
had a great many difficulties to fight against. A new 
trouble arose when the great region on the Upper Nile, 
called the Sudan, revolted. The rebellion became so 
dangerous that tlie Government sent General Gordon, a 
very high-minded and capable soldier, to put it down. 
The rebels killed Gordon, and the Government, making 
no attempt to punish them, left the Sudan altogether. 
Thirteen years later, however, the Sudan was recon- 
quered by Lord Kitchener, and has since, like the rest 
of Egypt, been ruled by the British. 

16. At home the Gladstone Government had also to 
meet with great difficulties. The worst of these was 

from a new Irish movement in favor of re- 
and"the " ^ storing an Irish Parliament at Dublin, and 
third so giving Ireland what was called Horne 

^^ ' Rule. The Irish Home Rulers were nu- 
merous in parliament, and made such long speeches that 
they prevented much business being done. For a long 



-1901. 



Victoria 



255 



time Gladstone would not yield to their demands. The 
Home Rulers therefore joined with the Conservatives, 




Qu<:'pn Victoria. 



and threw him out of office in 1885. His last act was to 
have the Reform Act of 1884, passed, by which parUament 



256 Victoria [l837- 

was reformed for a third time. Every man who lived in 
a house of his own was given a vote, both in boroughs 
and counties. The country was cut up into districts, 
very roughly equal in population, each of which was to 
send a single member to parliament. By this Act the 
power of controlling the Government passed over alto- 
gether to the people of the country. So the government 
of the British Islands became what is called a democracy', 
or government by the people. 

17. The Conservatives were now led by Lord Salis- 
bury. Neither tliey nor the Liberals were strong enough 

to form a lasting ministry, and power passed 
Rulers and quickly from one side to the other. At last, 
Unionists. i^^ 1886, Gladstone made an alliance with 
his old enemies, the Irish, and proposed to give Ireland 
Home Rule. Many of the Liberals were so disgusted at 
this that they deserted Gladstone and joined the Con- 
servatives. These were called Liberal Unionists^ and 
the foremost of them was Joseph Chamberlain^ a Bir- 
mingham manufacturer. The partj^ that took in both 
the Conservatives and the Liberal Unionists became often 
called t!ie Unionist part}^ Those faithful to Gladstone 
were called Gladstonians or Home Riders. 

18. The country did not wish to grant Home Rule 
to Ireland, and Gladstone's friends were badly beaten 

at the elections. The Unionists therefore 
Unionist formed a Ministry under Lord Salisbury. 
Ministries. Xhis party remained in power for the rest of 
Victoria's reign, except for one short period. During 
that period Gladstone died, at a very great age. Though 
he failed to make Englishmen believe in Home Rule, 
his eloquence, courage, faith, and enthusiasm kept for 
him to the last a wonderful power over the hearts of his 
countrymen. 

19. The last years of the queen's reign were very 
much taken up with foreign and colonial questions. 



-1901.] 



Victoria 



257 




'Eh 



258 Victoria [l837- 

Britain had to wage war in various parts of the world, 
and had to face tlie unfriendliness of many of the Eu- 
ropean powers. The two most severe of these 
The Boer wars were fought in Africa. One ended 
in tlie reconquest of the Sudan by Lord 
Kitchener, of which we have already spoken. The other 
was the Boer War against Dutch farmers called Boers^ 
that is, countrymen, who disputed with England the rule 
of South Africa. The lands round the Cape of Good 
Hope had been for about two hundred years colonized 
by the Dutch, but during the wars against Napoleon 
England had taken the Dutch settlements and called 
them Cape Colony. The old-fashioned Boers did not 
get on well with the British settlers. Many of them 
left Cape Colony, and established two Boer republics, 
called the Transvaal and the Orange River Free State. 
There was constant quarrelling between the British and 
the Dutch, and things got worse when rich diamond 
and gold mines were discovered in the Boers' lands. 
A large number of British and other emigrants came to 
dig in the mines, and got on very badly with the Boers. 
At last a great war broke out in 1899, Avhich was still 
going on when the queen died. Tlie Boers were splen- 
did soldiers, and fought very bravely; while the Eng- 
lish were not well led, and suffered many disasters. It 
was only after the queen's death that Lord Kitchener 
ended the war by defeating the Boers. Thus all South 
Africa was made British. 

20. It was not only in Africa that British rule was 
spread during Victoria's reign. All over the globe Eng- 
^, ^ . lish colonies have been increasing" in numbers 

The Domin- /-. i i • i t^ i 

ion of and nnportance. Canada, which was i^rench 

Canada and ^yvHX the days of Gcorge II., became partly 
monweaith English through British settlers taking up 
of Austraha. ^i^g^^ abode in Upper Canada. Yet the peo- 
ple of Lower Canada continued to speak French, and 



-1901.] Victoria 259 

there were many quarrels between the okl French 
and the new EngUsh settlers, just as there were be- 




Kino- Edward VI I. 



tween Dutch and English in South Africa. These were, 
however, gradually healed, and in 1867 all the British 



26o Victoria [l837- 

American colonies were united in what is called the 
Dominion of Canada. Moreover, Australia, first settled 
in the days of the younger Pitt, suddenly grew great 
and rich through discoveries of gold, and also became 
the home of many British settlers. At first there were 
many independent Australian colonies, but in 1901 they 
were all joined together in a single state called the Com- 
monwealth of Australia, Now that South Africa has 
again been made peaceful, it is probable that the differ- 
ent colonies there will also before long be united in the 
same fashion. Some people talk of joining together all 
the colonies and the mother country by still closer ties 
than those that exist at present. Whatever may come 
of this in the future, we may rejoice that recent history 
has proved that tlie colonies and the British Islands are 
much more friendly and willing to help each other than 
they have been in the past. When Britain was in diffi- 
culties in the Sudan and in South Africa, the colonies 
sent large bodies of soldiers to help. 

21. Queen Victoria's reign was the longest in Eng- 
lish history. She died in 1901, leaving the throne to 
De th f ^^^^ eldest son, Edward VIZ The country 
Queen made wonderful j^i'ogi'ess under her rule, 

Victoria. ^^^^ ^Yl who read about its history must 
feel how much England has done for civilization. His- 
tory also shows us how many mistakes England has 
made, and how much better both the country and the 
Empire might be than they really are. History should 
therefore encourage all of us to try to profit by past 
mistakes and to improve that which is imperfect. 

Summary. Victoria marries Prince Albert. The Chartists 
demand parliamentary reform and the Repealers demand the 
repeal of the Act of Union. The Anti-Corn-Law League accom- 
plishes the Repeal of the Corn Laws. The Liberal party gets 
control of the government. The Crimean War and the Indian 
Mutiny occur in Palmerston's ministry. The American Civil War. 



-1901.] Victoria 261 

Disraeli carries the second Reform Act, and Gladstone accomplishes 
the Disestablishment of the Irish Church. Gladstone fails to get 
Home Rule for Ireland. England occupies Egypt. The Boer 
Wars. Death of Victoria and accession of Edward VII. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. When were the Corn 
Laws started? Do you remember any revolts in English history 
similar to the Chartist movement? When had India been brought 
under the control of England, and how ? \\'hat does disendow- 
ment mean? 

Victoria : Tappan, E. M., In the Days of Queen Victoria. 

Chartism: Kingsley, C, Alton LocJce. 

Coal Mines : Henty, G. A., Facing Death. 

Crimean War: Henty, G. A., Jack Archer. 

Sebastopol : Henty, G. A., The Fall of Sebastopol. 

Boer War (1902) : Rousseau, V., DerwenCs Horse. 

Life in India : Kingston, W. H. G., The Young Rajah. 

Indian Mutiny: Fenn, G. M., Begumhagh. 

School Life in England before 1850: Dickens, C, Nicholas 
Nicklehy : Hughes, T., Tom Brown's School Days. 

School Life in England To-day : Adams, H. C, Charlie Lucken ; 
Who Was Philip ? 

Naval Life : Kingston, W. H. G., Paddy Tim. 

London Life : Dickens, C, Oliver Twist. 

Books for Teachers. Oman, C. W. C, England in tlie Nine- 
teenth Century ; McCarthy, J., History of Our Own Times ; Epoch of 
Reform. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 
The Hanoverian Period, 1714-1904 

1. This period in English history was marked by the 
greatest institutional changes the world has ever seen. 

Since the fall of the Roman Empire the states 
anges. ^£ Europe had been small in extent ; the 
large mass of the people had had little share in the 
government and very little religious freedom ; and only 
small improvements had been made in manufactures 
and agriculture. In all these matters great changes 
took place during the Hanoverian Period. 

2. By the Revolution of 1688 the kingship had really 
become an office in the gift of parliament. The king 

lost his power to veto an act of parliament 

^"^' and as one writer has put it, " would have to 

sign his own death warrant " if parliament ordered. The 

only real power the king has now is the influence he 

may exert on public opinion. 

3. All the king's power has passed into the hands of 
his ministers, who form a Cabinet. A sort of Cabinet — 

that is, a small number of Privy Councillors 
^^^. of the king — existed under Charles II. It 

did not have much power, however, and the 
Cabinet as we know it only began to develop under 
George I. This king could not speak English w^ell, as 
we have seen, and left all the business of government to 
his ministers, who formed a Cabinet. At the head of the 
Cabinet was the Prime Minister. As parliament had all 
the power, this Prime Minister and the other ministers 



The Hanoverian Period 263 

had to keep on the right side of the poUtical party which 
was in controL If the good-will of parliament was lost, 
the Cabinet, not being able to get any bills passed, could 
not carry on the government. After a time it became 
customary for a Cabinet Avhich lost the support of the 
controlling party of parliament to resign. A new Cab- 
inet representing the controlling party was then called 
by the king. In order to control and lead the party in 
parliament the members of the Cabinet were also mem- 
bers of parliament. 

4. By the three Reform Acts of 1832, 1867, and 1884, 
parliament now thoroughly represents the mass of the 
English people. Whatever act parliament 

passes is the supreme law of the land until 
another parliament comes into power. This parliament 
may repeal the act of a previous parliament, and then 
the act ceases to be the supreme law. In England there 
is never any question as to whether parliament can or 
can not do a certain thing. There is no written consti- 
tution which lays down things which parliament may or 
may not do. This practically puts parliament in control 
of all departments of government : the executive, legisla- 
tive, and judicial. Parliament, however, only represents 
the people, and what the people say parliament has to do. 
For that reason the House of Commons, which is chosen 
by the people, has become much more important than 
the House of Lords, whose members sit by right of birth. 
To the House of Commons alone belongs the right of 
starting all bills pertaining to the raising of money. 

5. Most of England's wars in the eighteenth century 
were fought on account of colonial possessions. England 
realized that if she was to be an important 

nation in the world, she must have many col- Empire 
onies. So she kept increasing her colonial 
possessions in all parts of the world. Now it has been 
truly said that the "sun never sets on British dominions." 



264 The Hanoverian Period 

6. The greatest problem of all was to know how to 
govern these colonies. The common idea in early times 

was that they should be used in every way for 
Govern- ^^e benefit of the mother country. The War 
ment of the of American Independence taught England a 

very sad and costly lesson. Having learned it, 
she never had to learn another. She saAv that it was best 
to let the colonies govern themselves. So all over the 
world the English colonies enjoy almost complete inde- 
pendence. Some people think that the colonies pay 
England a great many taxes, but this is not true at all. 
The only money benefit that England gets from her 
colonies is that which her merchants may get through 
trade. The colonies pay no taxes to England. This, 
and the fact of their independence, keep the colonies 
contented, and their love for the mother country holds 
them united to England. In this way England has to 
some extent solved the problem of governing a world- 
empire. 

7. It is very remarkable that since the fall of Rome 
there had been no improvements in transportation from 
^, place to place, only slight 
Industrial improvements in agriculture 
Revolution, .^^^^j agricultural implements, 
and almost none in manufactures. 
Weaving was still done by the old hand- 
loom under conditions which we have 
seen and known as the domestic system. 
The looms were of wood, because iron 
could only be got from the ore by a most Hand-loom from 

, 1 . T . Til Roman times. 

laborious and expensive process. In the 
latter part of the eighteenth century, a series of dis- 
coveries was made by which machinery took the place 
of the old implements, and steam as power took the 
place of the hand and foot. 

8. Cheap iron was needed for the machines. Iron 




The Hanoverian Period 265 

could only be made cheap by having coal to smelt the 

iron ore. Coal was very difficult to get at this time 

because water got into the mines and men 

had only hand-pumps to keep them dry. In 

1769 a man by the name of Watt invented an improved 

steam-pump. Tliis made cheap coal possible and conse- 




The Hand-Loom. 

quently cheap iron. In 1785 the same man used steam 
power to turn a wheel. Thus steam could be used to 
run machinery. 

Progress was now extremely rapid. Iron machines 
replaced the old Avooden ones for spinning and weaving. 
The machinery, however, had to be near the boilers to 
get the steam. So workmen could no longer stay in 
their own homes to work, but had to gather in large es- 
tablishments where many machines of one kind were 
gathered. These large establishments were called facto- 
ries. The worker by hand power could not sell his goods 
as cheaply as those made by machinery. The result was 
that after 1800 the factory system very rapidly replaced 
the domestic system. 



>.66 



The Hanoverian Period 



9. To run a factory a great deal oi il is neces- 

saiy. Sometimes a very rich man puts up a factory. 
More frequently, however, stock companies are formed 

to put up the building and provide the ma- 
Labo^^ ^^^ chinery. Laborers are then employed to 

run the machines. The difference in social 
position between the man who owns the factory and the 




An early form of Steam-Pump for Mines. 

(From an Engraving dated 1717.) 



operative wlio works in it has become very marked. 
There is no longer that good feeling between employer 
and employee which existed at the time of the domestic 
system. 



The Hanoverian Period 



267 




rower Looms in a Factory. 



268 The Hanoverian Period 

10. The employer now, in order to compete with 
another manufacturer, and at the same time make large 
profits, often gives very low wages to his laborers. 
This has led the laborers to unite in great trade-unions. 

liy means of these they have been able to 
Unions. force their employers to give them better 

wages. The object of these unions is mainly 
to get better wages and better conditions to work under. 
They give little attention to improving the quality of the 
article they manufacture, as the old craft-gilds did. Like 
the old craft-gilds the trade-unions try to prevent any men 
from working who are not members of the union, and to 
keep down the number of men entering the trade. 

11. The employers, or capitalists as they are called, 
have formed combinations (trusts) to keep up the price 

of the articles they manufacture. By this 
means they are enabled to pay higher Avages 
to the workmen and at the same time to make a profit 
on their goods. Other capitalists have formed combina- 
tions to resist the demands of the labor unions. Between 
capital and labor there have in consequence been many 
fierce struggles. Some of the employers have tried to 
settle the troubles by sharing the profits with their em- 
ployees, but this has not always proved successful. So 
the great struggle between capital and labor brought 
on by the factory system remains to-day an unsettled 
question. 

12. After 1800 when the factories were well started 
the employers were only too ready to make use of any 

kind of labor they could get, and under any 
Le'^islation ^^^^ ^^^ conditions. The employment of 

women and young children was found to be 
a great evil, and parliament, in 1833, passed an act rem- 
edying it. This act has been followed by others, so that 
now the conditions of labor, especially in the great cotton 
mills, are much better. 



The Hanoverian Period 



269 



13. Not in the world of manufactures alone did ma- 
chinery have a great effect, but on the farm also new 
machines supplanted the old implements. Scythes and 
sickles gave way to mowers and reapers, and with these 
machines one man and a horse could do in 
a day what it had taken several men a week ^^^^^ ^^^^' 
to do. Other machines, such as the steam threshing- 
machine, were also brought into use. 




Threshing-Machine. 

(Reproduced by permission from " Encyclopaedia Britannica," Vol. I.) 

14. Machinery for manufacturers would have been of 
little value had not some means been invented to haul 
coal from the mines to the great factories, 
to bring cotton from America to England, J^^^q^^^^' 
and to carry the manufactured articles to all 
parts of the world, easily, quickly, and cheaply. Fulton, 
an American inventor, used the steam-engine to propel 
a boat in 1807, and in England Stevenson used ittodriA^e 
his locomotive in 1825. Since those times great ocean 
steamships have developed and railroads have been laid 
in all parts of the world. Had an old Roman come to 



270 



The Hanoverian Period 



England in 1750 he would not have found the conditions 

of manufacture and transportation so very different from 

his own times, but were he 

to come to-day, he Avould 

indeed find that a great 

Industrial Revolution had 

taken place. 

15. You have seen that 

before the industrial revo- 
lution the great 
problem was to 

get power and to use it. 

That power was steam. 

Since that time the uses of 

another great power have 

been found — that power is electricity. This bids fair 

to cause an industrial revolution, even as great as that 



Electricity. 




A Roman Wao'on. 




An early English Steamboat. 



caused by the introduction of machinery. The great 
advantage that electricity has over steam is that it can 
be carried great distances. To run a machine, it is no 



The Hanoverian Period 



271 



longer necessary to be near the boiler which makes the 
power. The possibilities of this fact are only begin- 
ning to be realized. 

16. Literature also flourished greatly during this 
period. In the early part of the nineteenth centur}^, 
Scott produced his great historical novels. 
Later Dichens wrote novels on some of the 
abuses of the times, and Thackcraij in " Pendennis " and 
" Vanity Fair " pictured the life of the upper and middle 




All early English LoeoiiK^tive. 



classes of English society. In the last lialf of the nine- 
teenth century Teimyaon charmed the English-speaking 
world with his poetry. 

17. In only one field has England lagged beliind the 
other countries of Europe. Tliat is in the matter of 
public education. It was not until very re- 
cently that the state seriously undertook the 
business of seein^r that the nation is well educated. In 

o 

earlier times, as we have seen, education was mainly in 
the hands of the Church. For a long time the jealousy 
of rival churches has been a block in tlie way of educa- 



272 The Hanoverian Period 

tional progress, but with the opening of the twentieth 
century there is a movement to place England on an 
equal footing with other countries in matters of educa- 
tion. When this is done, she will be in this respect, as 
she is in all others, in the vanguard of civilization. 

Summary. Parliament, supreme over the king, exercises its 
i:)ower through the Cabinet. England builds up a great empire 
through the successful government of her colonies. Steam and 
machinery revolutionize the worlds of agriculture, manufactures, 
and commerce. As a result come struggles between capital and 
labor, represented by trusts and trade- unions. Factory legislation. 
Possibilities of electricity not fully realized. Literature flourishes, 
but education is backward. 

Topics and Supplementary Reading. What is the Privy 

Council ? Under what kings did it begin ? In a careful review 
of the whole book trace the history of the following: (1) The 
King; (2) Parliament; (3) Justice; (4) Religion and the 
Church ; (5) Agricultui-e ; (6) Commerce ; (7) Manufactures ; (8) 
Education. 

Machinery troubles : Henty, G. A., Through the Fray. 

Coal Mines : Henty, G. A., Facing Death. 

Books for Teachers. (See references at the end of Chapters 
XXXII. and XXXVII.) Howell, Geo., Conflict of Capital and 
Labour ; Cunningham, W., Outlines of English Industrial History. 



INDEX. 



Act, the Habeas Corpus, 171. 

the Stamp, 'J27. 

the, of Supremacy, 135. 

the Test, 190, 192 

the Toleration, 197. 

the First Reform, 243, 245. 

the Second Reform, 253. 

the Third Reform, 255. 

of Union with Ireland, 235. 

Africa, negroes from, 243. 

South, 258, 259, 2G0. 

Agiucourt, battle of, 111. 

Agriculture, 247. 

Aidan, 17. 

Alabama Claims, 252. 

Albert, Prince, 245. 

Alfred the Great, 21-24, 28, 38, 59. 

Alliance, the Grand, 201. 

America, British, 2G0. 

discovery of, 150. 

North, 1G4, 220. 

United States of, 1G5, 227, 228. 

Angles, the, 10, 11, 15, IG, 
Anglia, East, 11. 

Danes in, 22. 

Anjou, 59, Gl. 

House of, 59. 

taken from John, 70. 

Margaret of, 115, 116, 119. 

Anne, Queen, 19G, 201-205, 22G. 

Boleyn, Queen, 132, 135, 137. 

of Cleves, Queen, 137. 

Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, 48, 49, 

G2, 64, 136. 
Anti-Corn-Law League, the, 24G. 
Aquitaine, 61. 

Eleanor of, 70. 

Aragon, Catharine of, Queen, 126, 132, 

134, 137, 142. 
Arc, Joan of, 113, 115 
Archbishop of Canterbury, the first, 16. 

court of, 134. 

of York, the first, 16. 

Archers, the English, 91. 
Armada, the Invincible, 151, 152. 
Arms, the royal, 163-164. 
Army, the New Model, 178. 

the Cromwellian, 184, 185. 

the, and Parliament, 178. 

origin of our standing, 187. 

Arthur, Prince of Wales, 126. 

King, 12. 

Assizes, Henry II. 's, 61, 62. 
Athelney, 21. 
Atlantic, the, 237. 
Augustine, 16, 135. 



Australia, 260. 

the Commonwealth of, 260. 

Austria, 201, 215. 

Duke of, takes Richard I. prisoner, 69. 

at War with France, 231. 

Balliol, John, King of Scots, 82, 84. 
Bannockburn, battle of, 86-87, 88, 91. 
Barnet, battle of, 119. 
Barons' Wars, the, 75-76. 
Battles — 

Agincourt, 111. 

Bamiockburn, 86-87, 88, 91. 

Barnet, 119. 

Bosworth, 120. 

Boyne, the, 198. 

Crecy, 90-91. 

CuUoden Moor, 218. 

Dunbar, 181. 

Edgehill, 176. 

Evesham, 78. 

Falkirk, 82, 83. 

Flodden Field, 131. 

Hastings, 42, 44, 91. 

Hougue La, 199. 

Killiecrankie, 199. 

Lewes, 76. 

Malplaquet, 202. 

Marston Moor, 176. 

Naseby, 178. 

Oudenarde, 202. 

Plassey, 223. 

Poitiers, 91. 

Preston Pans, 217. 

Ramillies, 202. 

St. Albans, 116. 

Sedgemoor, 192. 

Tewkesbury, 119. 

Towton, 116. 

Trafalgar, 231. 

Wakefield, 116. 

Waterloo, 237. 

Worcester, 181. 
Bayeux, 43. 

Tapestry, the, 39, 41, 43, 44. 

Beaufort, Lady Margaret, 120. 

Becket, Thomas, 62-65. 

Bedford, John, duke of, 112, 115. 

Bengal, the Nabob of. 220, 223. 

Berkeley Castle, 88. 

Berlin Decree, 237. 

Bible, the, translated by Wycliffe, 98. 

the English, 137 ; the Latin, 137. 

Bill, the Exclusion, 191. 

the First Reform, 243, 245. 

the Second Reform, 253. 



18 



274 



Index. 



Bill, the Third Reform, 256. 

of Rights, the, 19G. 

Birmingham, 242, 25G. 
Black Death, the, 94. 

Hole of Calcutta, the, 220. 

Sea, the, '250. 

Boer War, the, 258. 
Boers, the, 258. 
Boleyn, Anne, 132, 135, 137. 
Bolingbroke, Lord, 205. 
Bonaparte, Joseph, 230. 

Napoleon, I., 231, 233, 230, 237, 249. 

III., 249. 

Bordeaux, 70, 92. 
Boroughs, Rotten, 242. 
Bosworth, battle of, 120. 
Boyne, battle of the, 198. 
Bretigny, the treaty of, 92. 
Britain, Great, 1, 102-103. 

single Parliament for, 204. 

Britons, the, 1-3, 102. 

Bronze weapons, 2. 

Bruce, Robert, 82. 

grandson of above, king of Scots, 

83, 80, 87, 89. 
Bubble, the South Sea, 213-214. 
Buckingham, George Villiers, duke of, 

107, 170. 
Burgh-on-Sands, 84. 
Burgundy, John, duke of, 112. 
Philip, duke of, 113, 115. 

CiESAR, Caius Julius, 4-6. 
Calais, 91, 92, 115, 142. 
Calcutta, 220. 
Canada, 220, 226, 258. 

the Dominion of, 258. 

Upper, 258. 

Lower, 258. 

Canals, 230. 

Canning, George, 240, 241 . 

Canterbury, Augustine, first archbishop 

of, 10. 

Dunstau, archbishop of, 27. 

Anselm, archbishop of, 48, 49, 02, 

04, 130. 

Thomas Becket, archbishop of, 02-05. 

Langton, Stephen, archbishop of, 

70, 71, 73. 
Cranmer, Thomas, archbishop of, 

134, 140, 143-144. 

Laud, archbishop of, 173, 174, 175. 

Cathedral, 03-05. 

archbishop's court of, 134. 

archbishopric of, dispute between 

John and Innocent III. as to, 70. 
Cape Colony, 2.58. 

of Good Hope, tlie, 258. 

Carlisle, Edward I. at, 84. 

Carnarvon, castle of, 81. 

Carolina, 188. 

Carver, John, 104. 

Catharine, queen of Henry V., 112. 

of Aragon, Queen, 126, 132, 134, 137, 

138, 142. 

Howard, Queen, 137. 

Parr, Queen, 138. 

Catholics, the Roman, 133. 
and Elizabeth, 146-148. 



Catholics, the Roman, and Charles II., 

191. 

and James II., 192-194. 

and Emancipation, 240-241. 

Cavaliers, the, 170. 

Cavairy, 91. 

Caxton, William, 123. 

Celts, the, 4. 

Chamberlain, Joseph, 256. 

Chancellor, the Lord, More, 135. 

Wolsey, 129, 133, 130. 

Charles I., 107-179, 182, 192, 196. 

II., 181, 184^185, 187-192. 

Edward, the Young Pretender, 216, 

217, 218. 

VI., king of France, 112, 

VII., king of France, 113. 

Charter, the Great, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75. 

the People's, 246. 

Charters confirmed, the, 85. 

Chartists, the, 240. 

Chatham, William Pitt, Earl, 227. See 

Pitt, William. 
Chaucer, Geoffrey, 99. 
Chester, 20. 

Chippenham, treaty of, 21. 
Christianity, 7, 9, 15-17, 97. 

conversion of Britain to, 15-17. 

Christians in Turkey, 249, 253. 

Church, the, and Becket, 02. 

state of the, during Richard II. 's 

reign, 97-98. 

Henry IV. supports the, 110. 

the, and Henry VIII., 132-138. . 

the, and Queen Mary, 142. 

Cromwell and the, 182-183. 

the Scottish, and William III., 199. 

Presbyterian to be retained by 

Scotland, 204. 
Churches built by Henry III., 74. 
Civil War, the, 170. 

in America, 250. 

Clans, 212. 

Clarence, Lionel, duke of, 109, 115. 

Clement VII., Pope, 132-134. 

Cleves, Anne of. Queen, 137. 

Clive, Robert, 223, 250. 

Clyde, the Firth of, 6. 

Cnut, 28-29. 

Cobden, Richard, 240. 

Colet, John, 100. 

Colleges established by Wolsey, 129. 

Colonies, British, 104-105. 

English, 188, 220, 226, 228. 

English in American, 220. 

revolt of American, 226-228. 

Spanish, 150, 151, 215. 

Colimibus, Christopher, 150. 
Commoner, the Great, 218-219. See Pitt. 
Commons, House of, the, 84, 204, 219, 

225, 242, 243. 

Pitt and the, 218, 220-222. 

Commonwealth, the, 181-186. 

of Australia, the, 200. 

Company, the East India, 105. 

the South Sea, 213. 

Comyn, John, 84. 

Confirmation of the Charters, 85. 

Conquest, the Norman, 92. 



Index. 



275 



Conquest, Roman, the, of Britain, 5. 

Conservatives, the, 244, 24G, 252, 254, 25(3. 

Constantinople, 249, 253. 

Constitution, the, 85, 109. 

Corn Laws, the, 24G, 247, 248. 

Cornwall, 12G. 

Court of Star Chamber, the, 127. 

Covenanters, 175. 

Cranmer, Thomas, 134, 140, 143-144. 

Crecy, battle of, 90-91. 

Crimea, the, 217. 

Crimean War, the, 249-250. 

Cromwell, Thomas, 13G-137, 176. 

Oliver, 17(.;-184, 188. 

Richard, 184. 

Crusade, the First, 67-G8. 

the Third, Richard I. goes on, G7-69. 

Edward I. goes on, 78. 

Crusades, the, G7-G9. 
Culloden Moor, battle of, 218. 
Cumberland, 217. 

the Young Pretender in, 218. 

the duke of, 218. 

Danegeld, 28. 

Dane law, the, 22, 26, 77. 

Danes, the, 20-23, 27, 28, 38. 

Darnley, Lord, 148. 

Death, the Black, 94. 

Debt, the National, 199. 

Declaration of Independence, the, 227. 

of Indulgence, the, 193. 

Dee, the river, 27. 
Democracy, 256. 
Denmark, 28. 

George, Prince of, 205. 

Derby, the march to, 217. 

Derbyshire, Young Pretender in, 217. 

Despensers, the two Hugh, 88. 

Diamonds in South Africa, 258. 

Dickens, 271. 

Disendowment of Irish Church, 253. 

Disestablishment of Irish Church, the, 

271. 
Disraeli, Benjamin, earl of Beaconsfield, 

251, 252, 253, 254. 
Dissenters, the, 187-193. 

toleration to the, 198. 

Domesday Book, the, 47. 

Dominion of Canada, the, 260. 

Drake, Sir Francis, 151. 

Druidism, 34. 

Dublin, 153, 235. 

Dudley, Lord Guildford, 141. 

John, duke of Northumberland, 

141, 142. 
Dunbar, the battle of, 181. 
Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury, 27- 

136. 
Dutch, the, 149, 188. 
the, in South Africa, 258. 

Earls, the Norman, 41-46. 
East India Company, the, 165. 
Eastern Question, the, 253. 
Edgar the Peaceful, 2(5. 
Edgehill, battle of, 176. 
Edinburgh, 217. 
Edward the Elder, 26. 



Edward the Martyr, 27. 

the Confessor, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41 , 42. 

I., 74, 75, 76, 78, 80, 84, 149. 

II., of Carnarvon, 72, 86, 88. 

III., 89, 94, 109, 111, 116, 118, 142, 162. 

IV., 116, 118, 125-126. 

v., 119. 

VI., 137-141. 

VII., 19, 50, 260. 

Edward of Carnarvon made Prince of 

Wales, 81. 
Prince of Wales, the Black Prince, 

90, 91, 94, 96. 
Edwin, king of Northumbria, IG, 17. 
Egbert, king of the West Saxons, 19, 20, 

21, 59. 
Egypt, 254. 
Elba, 236. 
Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of Henry II., 

51, 70, 92. 
Elections, Reform of, 243, 255. See also 

Reform of Parliament. 
Elizabeth of York, queen of Henry VII., 

125. 
Queen, 138, 144, 145, 157, 164, 165, 

184, 196. 
Emancipation, Catholic, 235, 240, 241. 
Emma, wife of Ethelred the Unready, 

29, 39. 
Emperors of Britain, title of, 26. 
Empire, Pitt and the, 228-229, 230, 232. 

the British, 253, 254. 

England, 1, 6, 9. 

New, 164. 

English, the, 1, 9, 10-11-12. 

Edward the Elder calls himself 

king of the, 26. 

language, the, 62, 92, 137, 140. 

Bible translated into, 137. 

George I. ignorant of, 212. 

Erasmus. D., 160. 

Essex, 16, 16. 

Ethelbert, king of Kent, 16. 

Ethelred the Unready, 27, 28, 29. 

Evesham, battle of, 78. 

Exclusion Bill, the, 191. 

Factories, 230. 

Falkirk, battle of, 82, 83. 

Famine in Ireland, 247. 

Fawkes, Guy, 167. 

Ferdinand, king of Spain, 126, 150. 

Finance, 248. 

Firth of Clyde, G. 

of Forth, 6. 

Flanders, 94. 

Flint weapons, 2. 

Flodden Field, battle of, 131. 

Foot-soldiers, 91. 

Forests, William I.'s, 49. 

Fotheringay Castle, 149. 

Fox, Charles James, 229, 235. 

France, 4, 38-39. 

Richard I. at war with the king 

of, 69. 

John at war with the king of, 69-70. 

and England, Hundred Years' Wai 

between, 84-94. 
Mary Tudor at war with, 142. 



276 



Index. 



France and Elizabeth, 147. 

the royal arms of, 1G3-1G4. 

and Charles I., 170. 

under Louis XIV., 184. 

and Anne, 201-202. 

peace with, 204. 

George II. at war with, 185. 

and the Seven Years' War, 223. 

Pitt ends war with, 225. 

helps America, 227. 

and the French Revolution, 230, 

233. 

and England at war, 236, 237. 

Napoleon returns from Elba to, 23G. 

and England at war with Russia, 

249. 
Free Trade, 248. 
French language, the, 39, 62, 92. 

in Canada, the, 258, 259. 

Frobisher, Sir Martin, 151. 

Gascont, 70, 86, 89, 91, 115. 

Gaul, 4. 

Gauls, the, 4. 

Gaunt, John of. See John, 86, 94. 

Gaveston, Piers, 86. 

Geoffrey, count of Anjou, 61. 

George!., 212,213,214. 

II., 215-224. 

III., 225-239. 

IV. , 240-244. 

of Denmark, Prince, 205. 

Germans, the, 7, 9. 
Germany, 1, 9. 

Richard I. prisoner in, 69. 

Ghent, 94. 

Gibraltar, 202. 

Gladstone, William Ewart, 248, 249, 252, 

253, 254, 255, 256. 
Gladstonians, 256. 
Glendower, Owen, 111. 
Gloucester, duke of. Uncle of Richard II., 

99. 

Richard, duke of. See Richard III. 

Gloucestershire, 88. 
Gold in Australia, 260. 

in South Africa, 258. 

Gordon, General, 254. 
Gregory the Great, Pope, 15-17. 

VII., Pope. 

Grey, Lady Jane, 141, 142. 
Gunpowder Plot, the, 167, 194. 

Habeas Corpus Act, the, 191. 
Hampden, John, 172, 227. 
Hampshire, 49. 
Hanover, House of, 206, 212. 

the Elector of, 205. 

Sophia, Electress of, 196, 205. 

Harold, king of the English, 42, 45. 

King of the Norwegians, 42, 45. 

Hastings, the battle of, 42, 44, 91. 

Hastings, Warren, 223. 

Hengist, 10. 

Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I., 170. 

Henry I., 48, 49, 59, 61. 

II. of Anjou, 50, 59, 65, 67, 69, 92, 

110. 
III., 73-78. 



Henry IV., 118. 

v., 110-112. 

VI., 112-116, 118, 119. 

VII., 121, 125-127, 129, 150, 162. 

VIII., 129-138, 142, 143, 145, 146, 153, 

162. 
Prince of Wales, afterwards Henry 

VIII., 126. 

Percy. See Percy. 

Heretics, 110, 138. 
High Court of Justice, the, 179. 
Highlanders, the, 199, 212, 213, 217. 
Highlands, the Scottish, 3, 199, 212, 213, 

216, 217. 
Holland, 149, 191, 201. See Dutch. 
Home Rule in Ireland, 255, 256. 

Rulers. See Home Rule. 

Horsa, 10. 

Hotspur, 110. 

Hougue La, battle of, 199. 

Howard, Catharine, Queen, 137. 

of Effingham, Lord, 151, 152. 

Humber, the river, 11. 
Hundred Years' War, the, 89. 

Independence, the Declaration of, 227. 
India, 165, 220, 223, 225. 

the Mutiny in, 250. 

Indian Mutiny, the, 250. 

Indies, the West, 184. 

Indulgence, the Declaration of, 193. 

Infanta of Spain, the, 167. 

Innocent III., Pope, 70. 

Interdict, the, 70. 

Invasions, the Danish, 20-22, 28. 

Inverness, 218. 

lona, 17. 

Ireland, 1, 3. 

and Henry 11. 

Henry VIII. 

king of, 153. 

in Elizabeth's reign, 153-155. 

and James I., 162-163. 

the royal arms of, 164. 

Wentworth in, 174. 

and Charles II., 181, 187. 

Cromwell and, 181-182. 

and William III., 198. 

and the younger Pitt, 231-232. 

united with England, 232-233. 

Catholics in, 241, 242. 

and George IV., 241, 242. 

outcry against the Union in, 245. 

distress in, 247. 

Gladstone and, 253, 254. 

the Church of, 253, 254. 

Home Rule for, 254-255. 

Irish, the, 3. 

Iron weapons, 3. 

Isabella of France, queen of Edward II., 

88, 90. 

Jacobites, the, 199, 200, 215, 216. 
Jamaica, 184. 

James I., king of Great Britain, 127, 
148, 149, 162, 169, 193-194, 196, 220. 

II., 192, 193, 196, 198, 199-200. 

— III., 200. 

IV. of Scotland, 127, 131, 146. 



61. 
assumes the title of 



Index. 



277 



James VI. of Scotland becomes James I. 

of England, IG'J. See James I. 

the Old Pretender, 'JIG. 

Jane Grey, Lady, 141, 142. 

Seymour, Queen, 137. 

Jerusalem, 08-69. 

Joan of Arc, 113, 115. 

John, King, G9, 73, 8G. 

king of France, son of Pliilip VI., 

91-9'J. 
of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, 94, 9G, 

99, 109. 
Jury, trial by, G1-G2. 
Jutes, the, 10. 

Kent, the kingdom of, 10, 13, 16. 

the Peasants' Kevolt in, 96. 

duke of, 244. 

Killiecrankie, battle of, 199. 
King-maker, Warwick, the, 118. 
Kitchener, General, 254, 258. 

Lancashire, the Young Pretender in, 216. 

Lancaster, House of, 109, IIG, 125. 

Henry of, son of John of Gaunt, 99. 

See also Henry IV. 

John of Gaunt, duke of. See John. 

Lancastrians, the, 109, 116. 

Land Law, the Irish, 254. 

Landlords, Reform Bill and the, 243. 

Langton, Stephen, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, 70, 71, 73. 

Language, the English. See English. 

Highland, 3. 

Irish, 3 

the French. See French. 

the Latin. See Latin. 

the Welsh. See Welsh. 

Latin Language, the, 7, 10, 140, 145. 

Laud, William, 173, 174, 175. 

Law, the Irish Land, 254. 

Laws, the Corn, repealed, 247-248. 

League, the Anti-Corn Law, 246. 

Leicester, Simon of Moutfort, earl of, 74- 
75, 78, 84. 

Leicestershire, 98, 120. 

Lewes, battle of, 76. 

Liberal Unionists, 256. 

Liberals, the, 244, 248, 252, 254, 256. 

Lindisfarne, 17. 

Lionel, duke of Clarence, 109, IIG. 

Liverpool, 248. 

railway between Manchester and, 

242. 

Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, 80-81. 

Locomotives, 242. 

Loire, the river, 92, 113, 115. 

Lollards, the, 97, 98, 110. 

London, 16, 93, 9G, 17G. 

bishopric of, IG. 

Wat Tyler marches to, 96-97. 

Company, lt)5. 

Lords, House of, 84, 167, 181, 204. 

Louis of France summoned to England by 
barons against John, 72, 73. 

XIV. of France, 1S4, 188, 199, 200, 

201, 202. 

Louisiana, 220. 

Lowlands, 212. 



Luther, Martin, 133, 137. 

Lutterworth, 98. 

Machinery, 230, 242. 
Magna Carta, 71-72, 73, 74. 
Malplaquet, battle of, 202. 
Manchester, 242. 

railway between Liverpool and, 242. 

Manufactures, British, 130. 

Mar, the earl of, 213. 

March, the earl of, 109, 116. 

Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII., 

126-127, 146, 163. 
Margaret of Aujou, queen of Henry VI., 

115, 116, 117. 
Maria Theresa, 215. 
Marlborough, duke of, 201, 203, 236, 240. 

duchess of, 201, 203. 

Marshall, William, earl of Pembroke, 73. 
Marston Moor, battle of, 176. 
Martyrs, the Protestant, 143-144. 
Mary, queen of William III., 194, 196, 

199. 
Stewart, queen of Scots, 146, 148, 

149. 

Tudor, Queen, 138, 141, 143-144. 

Matilda of Scotland, wife of Henry I., 

50, 59. 

daughter of Henry I., 50, 51. 

Mercia, 11, 12, 19, 22. 
Methodists, the, 219. 
Milan Decree, 237. 
Milford Haven, 120. 
Mines in South Africa, 258. 

silver, in America, 150, 151. 

Ministers, George III.'s choice of, 225. 

Mississippi, the Lower, 220. 

Model, the New, 178. 

Mohammedans, the, 07. 

Monarchy abolished, 181. 

Monasteries, 135-130. 

Monasticism, 135. 

Monk, General, 184. 

Monks, 135-130, 142. 

Moimiouth, the duke of, 192. 

Monroe Doctrine, 240. 

Montfort, Simon of, 75, 76, 78, 84. 

More, Sir Thomas, 135. 

Mutiny, Indian, 250. 

Nabob of Bengal, 220, 223. 
Napoleon Bonaparte I., 231, 233, 235, 236, 
237, 249. 

III., 249. 

Naseby, battle of, 178. 
National Debt, 199. 
Navy, the, 23, 231. 
Negroes, 243-244. 
Nelson, Admiral, 231. 
Netherlands, the United, 150. 

the Northern, 149. 

the Southern, 150. 

Marlborough in the, 201. 

Napoleon in the, 237. 

Neville, Richard, Earl of Warwick, 118. 
New Amsterdam, 188. 

England, 164. 

Forest, the, 49. 

Orleans, 238. 



278 



Index. 



Newcastle, the duke of, 218, 219, 221. 

Nile, the river, 254. 

Norfolk, 11. 

Normandy, 29, 30, 38, 60, Gl, G9, 90, 111, 

115. 
Henry II., duke of, 60, 61. See 

Henry II. 

taken from John, 60. 

the Black Prince lands in, 90. 

conquered by Henry V., 111. 

lost by Henry VI., 115. 

Normans, the, 29, 38, 51. 
Norsemen, the, 20, 38. 
North, Lord, 22.5-226. 
Northumberland, 11. 

Dudley, duke of, 141. 

Henry Percy, earl of. See Percy. 

Northumbria, 11, 12, 16, 17, 19, 22. 
Northumbria, Edwin, king of, 16, 17. 

Danes in, 22. 

Norway, 20, 28-29. 

Norwegians, the, land in Yorkshire, 42. 

Nunneries, 135. 

Nuns, 135. 

Gates, Titus, 190. 
O'Connell, Daniel, 241, 245. 
Orange, the Prince of, 194. 

River Free State, 258. 

Orders in Council, 237. 
Orleans, 113. 

Oudenarde, battle of, 202, 
Owen Glendower, 110. 
Oxford, 176. 
the provisions of, 75. 

Palmerston, Lord, 248, 249. 

Pandulf, 70. 

Paris, 90. 

Parliament, the beginnings of, 75. 

of 1265, Earl Simon's, 76, 78. 

Edward I. and, 84. 

the Good, 94. 

and Henry IV., 109, 110. 

and Henry V., 111. 

and Edward IV., 119. 

and Henry VIII., 134. 

and Edward VI., 140. 

and Charles I., 170, 172, 174-175, 176, 

179. 

the Long, 175, 176, 178, 179, 181. 

See also Rump. 

and Cromwell, 181, 182, 183. 

restores Charles II., 184-185. 

and the Test Act, 192. 

and the Revolution, 194, 196. 

and William III., 196-197. 

the Scottish, united with the Eng- 
lish, 204. 

and George II., 218. 

America resents taxation by British, 

227-228. 

reform of, necessary, 229, 230. 

the Irish, united with the British, 

235. 

and the Roman Catholics, 241-242. 

Reform of, 235, 243, 245, 253, 255. 

Gladstone's, 253. 

Parr, Catharine, Queen, 138. 



Party Government, 198. 

Paulinus, 16. 

Peace. See under Treaty. 

Peasants' Revolt, the, 96-97. 

Peel, Sir Robert, 244, 247, 248. 

Peelites, the, 248. 

Pembroke, William Marshall, earl of, 

Peninsular War, the, 236, 237. 

Pennsylvania, 188. 

Percies, the, 118. 

Percy, Henry, earl of Northumberland, 

110. 
Petition of Right, the, 171. 
Phihp VI. of Valois, king of France, 89. 

duke of Burgundy, 113, 115. 

II., king of Spain, 142, 149, 151-152. 

king of Spain, grandson of Louis XIV., 

201, 202. 
Philippa, daughter of Lionel, duke of 

Clarence, 109. 
Picts, the, 3, 6, 
Pilgrimage, 65, 67. 
Pitt, William, the Elder, afterwards earl 

of Chatham, 218-219, 220, 227, 228, 

229, 
the Younger, 228, 229, 232, 233, 

240, 241, 243. 
Plague, 94. 

of London, the Great, 188. 

Plantation of Ulster, the, 163. 
Plantations, sugar, 243. 
Plassey, battle of, 223 
Plot, Gunpowder, 167, 194. 

the Popish, 190. 

the Rye House, 191. 

Plymouth, 151. 

Company, 

Poitiers, battle of, 91. 
Poor priests, Wycliffe's, 98. 
Pope, the, 15. 

Gregory the Great, 15, 17. 

the, and Henry II., 65. 

Innocent III., 70. 

the, and Wycliffe, 97. 

Clement VII., 132, 133. 

position in England of the, 134, 135. 

Parliament, Mary's, and the, 142. 

Elizabeth and the, 145. 

Portugal, 236, 

Potatoes, 247. 

Poundage, 172. 

Prayer-book, the English, 140, 142, 145, 

174, 175, 187. 

Laud's, for Scotland, 174. 

Presbyterianism, 148, 173, 175, 187. 

Presbyterians, 149, 173, 175, 187. 

Presbyters, 49. 

Preston Pans, battle of, 217. 

Pretender, the Old, 205, 212, 213, 215, 

216. 

the Young. 216. 

Priests, the poor, 98. 
Piime Minister, title of, 215. 
Protection, 248. 
Protectionists, 248. 
Protector, York becomes, 116. 

Somerset, Lord, 140. 

Cromwell, Lord, 182, 



Index. 



279 



Protestants, the, 133, 137, 140, 142, 143, 

145, 148, 1G7, 193, 194, 197. 

Scots, 149. 

in Ireland, 233. 

Provisions of Oxford, the, 75. 

Puritans, the, 14G, 148, 104, 172, 173, 17G, 

183, 185. 

Scots, 149. 

and Charles I., 173. 

Pyrenees, the, 92. 

Railroads, 242. 

Railways, 242. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 164. 

RamiUies, battle of, 202. 

Reform of Parliament, 242, 243, 245, 253, 

255. 
Reformation, the, 133, 140, 173. 
Reformers, the. See Protestants. 
Regent, George, Prince, 238. See George 

IV. 
Reign of Terror, the, 230, 243. 
Reims, 113-115. 
Repeal of the Corn Laws, the, 245, 246, 

247. 
Repealers, the, 245. 
Republic, the Dutch, 194. 

the French, 230. 

Republics, the Boer, 258. 

Restoration, the, 185. 

Revolt, the Peasants', 96-97. 

of American Colonies, the, 226, 227, 

228, 229. 
Revolution, the, of 1688, 194 ; in Scotland, 

199. 

French, the, 230-231. 

England and the, 230, 231. 

Richard I., the Lion Heart, 67-69. 

II., 96, 97, 99. 

III., 120. 

duke of York, father of Edward IV. 

and Richard III., 118, 119. 

afterwards Richard III., 120. 

son of Edward IV., Warbeck 

personates, 125. 
Richmond, Henry Tudor, earl of, 120, 

121. See also Henry VII. 
Right, the Petition of, 171. 
Rights, the Bill of, 196. 
Roads, making of, 230. 
Robert, duke of Normandy, 48, 50. 
Rodney, Admiral, 228. 
Roman CathoUcs, 155, 167, 196, 198, 

235. 1 1 T 1 ^ 

'- Irish, 153-155, 198, 235. 

under William III., 196. 

Romans, the, 4-7. 

Rome, 4, 15, 134. 

Roses, Wars of the, 118. 

Rouen, 38. 

Roundheads, the, 176. 

Royalists, the, 176. 

Rump, the, 170, 181, 182, 184-185. 

Runnymede, 71. 

Russia, 231, 236, 2.33. 

Napoleon quarrels with, 236. 

at war with Turkey, 253. 

Rye House Plot, the, 191. 



Saint Albans, battle of, 116. 

Helena, 237. 

Lawrence, river, 220. 

Saladin, (i'i. 

Salisbury, Lord, 256. 

Saxon.s, the, 10. 

the West, 19, 20, 23, 26. See also 

Wessex. 

Harold, earl of. See Harold. 

Schools established by Wolsey, 129. 
Scotland, 1, 3, 6, 17, 81-84, 146-149, 162, 

163, 173, 175, 181, 182, 184, 187, 198, 199, 

204, 212, 213. 

and Christianity, 17. 

and Edward I., 81-84. 

and Edward II., 87-88. 

and France, 146-147. 

the king of, becomes king of Great 

Britain, 162. 

the royal anus of, 164. 

the Church in, 173-174. 

and Charles I., 173. 

and Cromwell, 181, 182, 183. 

and Charles, afterwards Charles II., 

181, 182, 184, 185, 187. 

and William III., 198, 199. 

and Anne, 201-206. 

and George I., 212-214. 

united to England, 235. 

Scott Walter 271. 

Scots' the, 3, 6, 20, 59, 89. See Scotland. 

Seamen, Elizabethan, 150-151. 

Sebastopol, 250. 

Secret Treaty of Dover, 188. 

Sedgemoor, battle of, 192. 

Seine, the river, 38. 

Separatists, 209. 

Sepoys, 250. 

Sepulchre, the Holy, 67-68. 

Seven Years' War, the, 223, 226-227. 

Seymour, Edward, duke of Somerset, 

140, 141. 

Jane, Queen, 137-138. 

Shaftesbury, the earl of, 190-191. 

Shakespeare, William, 156. 

Ship-money, 172. 

Siege of Sebastopol, the, 250. 

Slave-trade, the, 210. 

Slavery, negro, 243. 

Slaves, negro, 243. 

Somerset, 21. 

Edward Seymour, duke of, 140, 141. 

Sophia, Electress of Hanover, 196-197. 
South Sea Bubble, the, 214. 

Company, the, 213-214. 

Spain, 126, 127, 142, 146, 149, 151, 167, 

170, 171, 184,, 201, 202, 204, 215, 231, 

236. 

Ferdinand, king of, 126, 127. 

and Mary Tudor, 141. 

and Elizabeth, 148. 

at war, 149-152. 

Prince Charles in, 167. 

Charles I. at war with, 170-171. 

and Cromwell, 184. 

War of Succession for, 201-203. 

and George II., 215-224. 

helps America, 227. 

Joseph Bonaparte, king of, 236, 



28o 



Index. 



Spain, the Peninsular War in, 23G. 

Staines, 71. 

Stamp Act, the, 227. 

Star Chamber, the, 127. 

States, the United, 165. 

Steam-engine, the, 230. 

locomotive, 242. 

Steamships, 242. 

Stephen, King, 50, Gl. 

Stewart, the House of, 162. 

Mary, Queen of Scots. See Mary. 

Stewarts, the, 162, 166, 197, 218. 

and Parliament, 166, 167. 

Stirling, the siege of, 'i'd. 

Stonehenge, 34. 

Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, earl of, 
174-175. 

Straits of Dover, the, 152. 

Succession, War of the Austrian Succes- 
sion, 215. 

the war of the Spanish, 201, 203. 

Sudan, the, 254. 

Suez, the Isthmus of, 254. 

Suffolk, 11. 

Sugar plantations, 243. 

Supremacy, the Act of, 135. 

Suspending power, the, 192, 196, 197. 

Swegen, king of Denmark, 28. 

Tapestry, the Bayeux, 43. 

Taxation, 127, 166, 172. 

under Henry VII., 127. 

James I.'s, 166. 

Charles I.'s, 172. 

America resists, 227-228. 

Taxes, William I. imposes, 47, 48. 

on bread, 246-248. 

Thames, the, 71. 

Tennyson, 271. 

Terror, Reign of, the, 199. 

Test Act, the, 190, 192. 

Thackeray, 271. 

Thomas, St., of Canterbury. See Becket. 

Toleration Act, the, 197. 

Tonnage and poundage, 172. 

Tories, the, 191, 192, 194, 198, 203, 226, 
229, 235, 240, 244. See also Conserva- 
tives. 

the Liberal, 240. 

Tournai, 125. 

Tower of London, the, 46, 117, 135. 

Hill, 135, 175. 

Towns send representatives to Parlia- 
ment, 76-78. 

Towton, the battle of, 116. 

Trade, British, 230. 

Free, 248. 

the slave, 243. 

Trafalgar, the battle of, 231. 

Transvaal, the, 258. 

Treaty of Chippenham, the, 21. 

of Bretigny, the, 92. 

of Troyes, the, 112. 

of Utrecht, the, 204. 

Trent Affair, 251. 

Trial by jury, 61-62. 

Tribute paid by Britons to Rome, 5. 

Troyes, the treaty of, 112. 

Tudor, the House of, 61, 125, 146, 162. 



Tudor, Henry, Earl of Richmond. See 
Henry VII. 

Margaret, 146. 

Mary, 141, 144. See Mary. 

Tudors, the, 61, 125, 146, 162, 166. 

Turkey, 249. See Turks. 

Turks, the, 68, 216, 253. See Turkey. 

Tuscany, 231. 

Tyler, Wat, 96-97. 

Ulster, 163. 

the Plantation of, 163. 

Union of England and Scotland, the, 204. 
of Great Britain and Ireland, the, 

235. 
Irish, repeal of the, demanded, 245, 

254, 256. 
Unionists, Liberal, 254, 256. 
United States of America, 165, 227. 
Utrecht, treaty of, 204, 213. 

Valois, Philip, Count of, 89. 

Victoria, Queen, 196, 245-261. 

Villiers. George, duke of Buckingham, 

170, 172. 
Virginia, 164. 
Voyage round the world, Drake's, 151. 

Wakefield, battle of, 116. 

Wales, 1, 6, 9, 80, 120, 126, 182. 

Llewelyn, Prince of, 80. 

Principality of, conquered by Ed- 
ward I., 80. 

Edward of Carnarvon, prince of, 80. 

Edward the Black Prince of, 90, 91, 

94, 96. 

Arthur, prince of, 126. 

Henry, prince of, 126. 

Charles, prince of, 167. 

IL, 181. 

George, prince of, 238. 

Wallace, William, 82-83. 

Walpole, Sir Robert, 215, 218. 

War, the Great Civil, 187, 188. 

French and Indian, 220. 

of the Spanish Succession, 201, 204. 

of the Austrian Succession, 215. 

King William's, 198. 

of Seven Years', 220, 223, 226-227. 

Palatinate, 199. 

Peninsular, 236, 237. 

Queen Anne's, 201. 

the Crimean, 250. 

Civil War in America, 250. 

the Boer, 258. 

of 1812 with America, 238. 

Warbeck, Perkin, 125. 

Wars, the Barons', 75-76. 

of the Roses, 118, 125. 

Warwick, Richard Neville, earl of, 118. 

Waterloo, battle of, 237. 

Wellesley, Arthur, duke of WeUington, 

236, 237, 240, 241, 243. 
Wellington, duke of, 236, 237, 240, 241, 

243 
Welsh, the, 3, 9, 10 11, 12, 15, 26, 61, 80, 
110. 

the, and Edward I., 80. 

the, and Henry II., 61. 



Index. 



28 



Welsh, the, and Henry IV., 110. 

language, the, 3, 'J. 

Wentworth, Thomas, earl of Strafford, 

174, 175. 
Wesley, John, 219. 
Wessex, 10, 12, 19, 20, 22, 42. 
Westminster, 179, 204, 235. 
Abbey, 29, 42, 45 ; the present, 

built by Henry III., 74. 
Whigs, the, 191, 174, 198, 203, 205, 212, 

218, 22,5, 228, 244. See also Liberals. 
William I., the Conqueror, 39, 42, 43, 45, 

4G, 47. 

II., Rufus, 48, 49, 67. 

— -III., 196, 199,233. 
IV., 242-244. 



Wolfe, General, 222-223. 
Wolsey, Thomas, 129, 133, 136. 
Worcester, the battle of, 181. 
Worcestershire, 78. 
Wyclitfe, John, 97-98, 110. 

York, 116, 176. 

archbishops of, 129. 

Paulinus, archbishop of, 16. 

Thomas Wolsey, 129, 133, 136. 

Richard, duke of, 116-117. 

James, duke of, 189-190. 

James II. 
Yorkists, the, 118, 120, 125. 
Yorkshire, 40. 



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